A new report has found that the UK needs to install electric vehicle charging stations much quicker than its current pace, in order to reach its 2030 target.
The Government is aiming to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles at the start of the next decade. However, according to Policy Exchange (a London-based think tank), current plans mean there won’t be enough charging points in place by this time, considering the existing rate.
The recent report indicated that new stations will have to be installed five times faster than the present speed. It also revealed that the UK will need to spend up to eight times more if it is to achieve this.
Currently, there are around 35,000 public charging points on our roads, with approximately 7,000 new stations being fitted every year. However, Policy Exchange has highlighted that the country will require roughly 400,000 stations by 2030, leaving a shortfall of over 300,000.
Similarly, while the recent pledge to invest £1.3bn comes as a welcome boost, it still won’t be enough to deliver the number of stations needed. It’s estimated that as much as £10bn will be required, meaning a significant amount of additional funds will have to be sourced from the private sector.
Rod Dennis, a spokesman for RAC, said: “Without a big increase in the number of charge points right across the UK, certain parts of the country risk getting left behind as 2030 approaches.
“Everyone remembers what happened when broadband started to be rolled out and some areas were left with poor connections. It would be a major policy failure if something similar happened in the next few years, with communities missing out on good charging provision.”
Furthermore, the report stressed that the Government could face multiple issues when installing the stations. These problems include the potential requirement of expensive new connections to the electricity grid at motorway service stations.
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