Agenda item

An update on the Council’s Plans for EV chargers.

https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-transport/travel-and-public-transport/electric-vehicles

Neil Matthews, Head of Highways & Transport presented an update on Bracknell Forest Council’s plans for Electric Vehicles and EV chargers.

The presentation covered the following highlights:

·       The Government had recently released a decarbonising transport document. Which highlighted that transport currently produced 27% of the UKs greenhouse emissions.

·       The decarbonising transport projection was already on a downwards trajectory due to the regulation of emissions.

·       There was an assumption within the projection that the electricity grid is fully decarbonized which currently wasn’t the case and that fewer journeys would be made in smaller vehicles and that a number of journeys would be made by cycling or walking.

·       There were three steps to the government’s targets, the first being the halt on selling new cars and vans that were wholly powered by petrol and diesel by 2030.

·       Hybrid vehicles would still be able to be purchased between 2030 and 2035.

·       By 2035 all new cars, powered two wheelers and vans would be fully zero emission at the tail point.

·       2040 would likely see the end of non zero emission HGVs.

·       However, it was noted that the technology for these solutions was not yet in place for all the various vehicles. Some were subject to consultation with manufacturers to see if these changes were achievable within the governments set time frame.

·       There were 38 million vehicles on the road in 2020, this was projected to increase to 45 million in 2050.

·       There were only 400,000 low emission vehicles on the road in 2020, which was 1% and tallied with records in Bracknell Forest.

·       The regulation of use of non low emission vehicles was currently unknown.

·       It was expected that from 2025 onward the costs would be comparable for EV.

·       Battery technology was important, with performance increasing annually.

·       Viability of commercial and public charge points was important.

·       Incentives will be a factor to encourage people to make the switch early.

·       Installation costs for charge points varied, and that depended on the charge speed and whether a power upgrade was required.

·       It was expected that the Council would have to be a facilitator and coordinator of charging points, rather than a provider. Its current role was ss a contributor to the ‘Overall Charging Solution’.

·       The Councils current role was to help to provide public chargepoints in places and facilities we own, encourage and facilitate private investment by commercial EV chargepoint providers, forecourt owners, energy providers and co-ordinate with distribution network operators.

·       Each new charge point was currently a business case in its own right.

·       Estimating demand was currently difficult, with no regional figures currently being released. The Council was currently in the hands of the chargepoint providers, with them providing this information.

·       Competition from chargepoint providers was also a factor, so the longevity of the charge point was also a factor.

·       Technology was changing fast, with what was currently state of the art technology, may not be next year.

·       There were currently some financial grants provided by the government to residents, companies and the council for chargepoint installations. 

·       The Council had to bid for this funding. There was a £20m national fund across the country.

·       Going forward there would be a £90m national fund in 2022 aimed at providing rapid charging hubs.

·       An EV infrastructure strategy would be forth coming, which would help define roles for the public and private sectors.

·       The Council had been successful in getting funding for a further 32 charge points, in addition to the 20 already in BFC car parks and the 20 private points across the borough.

·       There was currently 9 charge points to an EV in the borough, the national average was 17 to each EV, but it was important to not be complacent.

·       The Council was working with other Berkshire authorities on shared challenges / opportunities and preparing evidence base for increased investment by commercial EV charging providers in the Berkshire region.

·       There was an 'EV ‘Summary and Guide’ published on BFC public webpage and an expansive webpage was planned to inform, guide and signpost on EV themes.

·       Awareness exercises were planned to promote early planning for EV transition.

In response to discussion and questions, the following points were noted:

·       It was essential that information was shared with counterparts and support could be provided to Town and Parish Councils.

·       It was difficult to establish a fixed model for chargepoints as each was currently an individual business case.

·       For lots of practical and financial reasons, it was expected that street level parking would come later down the line, therefore it was important that the three settings, home, on route and destination were covered.

·       When chargepoints are installed at street level, working with the land owner, such as Silva Homes would be important.

·       Lots of factors were at play in different regions such as bigger Towns and City, there had been some projects that had accelerated projects in these areas.

·       Bracknell were faring well in relation to other areas, but it was important to not be complacent.

·       The installation costs for different speeds varied, depending on the supply that you may have in your area. The costs could be very high if you lived in a remote location and needed to improve the supply.

·       The plan for the 32 new chargepoint would be an introduction in many in the local community carparks, as community hubs for people to have access to, rather than just the town centre car park.

·       EV range would depend on other factors such as the journey type, whether it was stop start, if you were on the motorway or had the heating or aircon on.

·       Procurement was required for the new chargepoints, to ensure best value for money and it was a very competitive market. The Government expected a 12 month turn around, but it was hoped after procurement it would be a shorter time period.

·       Discussions around taxis were currently being held internally with the licensing team regarding their strategy going forward.

·       It was expected that the Government strategy would be coming in 2022. A public roadmap had already been provided by the government.

·       A national perspective and fund was required to push forward.

·       Bracknell Forest had a strategy within the framework that had been provided by government. It would be clearer what the Councils role was once the governments strategy had been published.

·       The Council couldn’t compete with the private companies with providing charging solution or roll out large charging stations.

·       The Councils role was enablement and the LEP was currently undertaking similar work.

·       If lamp column charging was to be used, then the whole column would need to be replaced in order to facilitate this.