Are we being forced to go electric?

[lazybloke]

I heard this story a while ago about power to MW services. It’s a big issue

The local grid is already poor, but it can cope just fine with low overnight demand.
So there's the solution - batteries at filling stations that charge up during the day, and then deliver that power to chargers by day to 'smooth' out the peaks in demand.

MW services and some busy 'filling stations' will need to have large battery capacity, or very good grid connections.

At busiest times, ultra charging may have to be slowed down. Expect this will largely be achieved through pricing strategy.

 

[geocycle]

Radio 4 Today 8.10am. Discussion mostly about the inability of the National Grid to supply power to the existing network of motorway chargers, and future implications. Interview with the CEO of MOTO, then with Richard Holden, Transport Minister, who didn't seem to understand the issue.

I’m concerned that the national grid is going to become the next big utility problem. They are struggling to connect up the multiple renewable sources now available to them and electrification of transport will test them.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Why don’t they push for planting more trees then?

There is, alas, insufficient land in the world to mitigate emissions through tree planting.

 

[cougie uk]

I heard this story a while ago about power to MW services. It’s a big issue

Weird. I'd have thought that any motorway service station already uses a lot of electricity already?

I guess there needs to be more cabling to carry more electric to them ?

There's meant to be an electric forecourt near me but it was announced two years ago and still not built. Not sure how much of the delay is down to planning issues or getting utilities sorted. These things are always more complicated than you think.

 

[CXRAndy]

There is, alas, insufficient land in the world to mitigate emissions through tree planting.

But we can do something, this Autumn we will start planting 60 trees and nearly 4000 hedgerow plants

 

[youngoldbloke]

But we can do something, this Autumn we will start planting 60 trees and nearly 4000 hedgerow plants

To put this in perspective - Well over a million trees in Northumberland and at least eight million in Scotland were destroyed in one night by Storm Arwen. We've got along way to go to even get back to where we were.
- but it all helps!

 

[Jameshow]

I heard this story a while ago about power to MW services. It’s a big issue

Just need big diesel generator behind the trees!🤣🤣🤣

 

[CXRAndy]

To put this in perspective - Well over a million trees in Northumberland and at least eight million in Scotland were destroyed in one night by Storm Arwen. We've got along way to go to even get back to where we were.
- but it all helps!

Yeah back to the bronze age when virtually all of the UK was covered in woodland, decline ever since.

 

[vickster]

To put this in perspective - Well over a million trees in Northumberland and at least eight million in Scotland were destroyed in one night by Storm Arwen. We've got along way to go to even get back to where we were.
- but it all helps!

Don’t forget the rest of the globe too!

 

[Pale Rider]

Just need big diesel generator behind the trees!🤣🤣🤣

There's an EV-only filling station which has been featured on the telly a few times.

They have several containers full of knackered car EV batteries which are still capable of acting as a back up store.

Sounds good, although goodness knows what the size of the explosion would be if they ever caught fire.

It also illustrates another consideration with EV charging stations - land.

An EV station needs loads more 'pumps' to service the same number of ICE cars due to the extended period the EV is tethered to each charging point.

Adding the containers of back up batteries (and a dedicated sub-station) makes an EV station much bigger than an ICE one.

Not a problem in large parts of America where they have more land than they know what to do with.

But it is a problem in our crowded little island.

 

[cougie uk]

There's an EV-only filling station which has been featured on the telly a few times.

They have several containers full of knackered car EV batteries which are still capable of acting as a back up store.

Sounds good, although goodness knows what the size of the explosion would be if they ever caught fire.

It also illustrates another consideration with EV charging stations - land.

An EV station needs loads more 'pumps' to service the same number of ICE cars due to the extended period the EV is tethered to each charging point.

Adding the containers of back up batteries (and a dedicated sub-station) makes an EV station much bigger than an ICE one.

Not a problem in large parts of America where they have more land than they know what to do with.

But it is a problem in our crowded little island.

Pretty sure oil refineries are a bigger area than all the EV charging stations combined.

 

[Alex321]

There's an EV-only filling station which has been featured on the telly a few times.

They have several containers full of knackered car EV batteries which are still capable of acting as a back up store.

Sounds good, although goodness knows what the size of the explosion would be if they ever caught fire.

It also illustrates another consideration with EV charging stations - land.

An EV station needs loads more 'pumps' to service the same number of ICE cars due to the extended period the EV is tethered to each charging point.

Adding the containers of back up batteries (and a dedicated sub-station) makes an EV station much bigger than an ICE one.

Not a problem in large parts of America where they have more land than they know what to do with.

But it is a problem in our crowded little island.

Almost all of the charging stations are going to be at places that already have car parking, they will just be adding charging posts. Even the fastest chargers take long enough that you will usually be combining it with at least a stop for a cup of coffee (or whatever your choice of beverage might be).

They are not going to take the place of stand alone filling stations, which might have a small convenience store attached, but not much else. The model for recharging EVs is very different from the model for fuelling ICE vehicles.

 

[Pale Rider]

Almost all of the charging stations are going to be at places that already have car parking, they will just be adding charging posts. Even the fastest chargers take long enough that you will usually be combining it with at least a stop for a cup of coffee (or whatever your choice of beverage might be).

They are not going to take the place of stand alone filling stations, which might have a small convenience store attached, but not much else. The model for recharging EVs is very different from the model for fuelling ICE vehicles.

Lots of small clusters of EV points will be part of the future.

The company which owns the 'mega EV station' has ambitions to open more, so presumably there's money in it.

Pretty sure oil refineries are a bigger area than all the EV charging stations combined.

As are power stations.

The electricity to power all those charging points has to come from somewhere.

'Oil refineries are big' really isn't your best point.

 

[cougie uk]

'Oil refineries are big' really isn't your best point.

Ah but just think how much space petrol tankers take up - parking bays and on the road - that'll not be needed in a few years or so...

If you're serious about space issues - then I think pushing public transport, walking and cycling is best for us all. Charging stations don't use up much more space than car parking and are probably more efficient than petrol stations space for space.

 

[youngoldbloke]

What's the throughput of a petrol pump - how many vehicles per hour? - and a Motorway Services charger per hour? Won't we need many more chargers than we have pumps as each is occupied for much longer when EVs form a significant percentage of vehicles? Maybe larger facilities too given the increased time spent by coffee drinking drivers?