Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru / National Assembly for Wales
Pwyllgor yr Economi, Seilwaith a Sgiliau/ Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee
Gwefru cerbydau trydan yng Nghymru/ Electric vehicle charging in Wales
Ymateb gan Gareth Tucker, Ynni Sir Gar / Evidence from Carmarthenshire Energy
To understand the current charging infrastructure in Wales, and to what extent it is fit for purpose;
1 The charging infrastructure in Wales is not yet sufficient for most EV users to travel through less populated parts of the country and be confident in finding enough operational, unoccupied chargepoints. Many parts of Wales lack off-road parking, and the lack of charging facilities in these areas discourages many residents from purchasing an EV.
How the infrastructure needs to develop to support an increase in EVs on our roads. How the Welsh Government, private sector and third sector can work together to develop EV charging infrastructure;
2 There will be a gradual increase of chargepoints funded by the private sector, however, these will tend to be on trunk roads or destination charges at busy locations. Challenges for Wales include several important link roads that pass through sparsely populated areas with weak grid capacity, and nearly half of Welsh residents lacking off-road parking. The needs of Wales are therefore unlikely to be met by the private sector alone. WG has allocated two million pounds for EV charging infrastructure, however, more is needed if Wales is to not get left behind in the EV revolution. This could come directly from WG, or WG could source it from elsewhere, for example some EV initiatives in Scotland have been funded by the ERDF. WG money would be best spent on providing infrastructure on strategic link roads, and hubs or similar for residential areas with predominately on-road parking. The private sector and the third sector could assist in identifying suitable sites and hosting and/or funding chargepoints, with some match funding from WG.
Whether the electricity grid in Wales is able to deal with a significant increase in EV infrastructure, particularly in rural areas;
3 The grid capacity is limited in many parts of rural Wales, and this is a big challenge to overcome particularly in providing chargepoints on rural sections of link roads. Installation of rapid chargepoints may need significant grid upgrades in many places.
To explore the potential for electric vehicles to promote behaviour change, for example in terms of vehicle ownership and car sharing initiatives;
4 Many people use their vehicles only infrequently, and electric vehicles with their low maintenance requirements lend themselves well to electric car clubs. It would be great to see WG supporting these, either through grants and low interest loans for communities looking to set up car clubs, or technical support similar to that already available for some renewable energy schemes.
To what extent the Welsh Government has acted upon the recommendations in the Low Carbon Vehicle Report; and
Examples of best practice from Wales and further afield.
5 Scottish Government have allocated tens of millions of pounds to EV infrastructure, and work there includes the ‘electric highway’ on the A9 and charging hubs in Dundee. Some information on Dundee is at the LinkedIn article below