HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORT CABINET PANEL

TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2011 AT 10.00 AM

ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE

Report of the Director Environment and Commercial Services

Author:Andy Summers tel: 01992 556192

Executive Member: Stuart Pile

  1. Purpose of Report

1.1The purpose of this report is:

  • To inform the Panel of the publication of the Department for Transport’s national strategy for electric vehicle infrastructure;
  • To update the Panel on the current state of electric vehicle charging provision in Hertfordshire, and;
  • To seeka preliminarysteer from the Panel on the County Council’s future approach with regard to electric vehicle infrastructure provision.

2.Summary

2.1The Department for Transport published its national strategy for electric vehicles in June 2011. The strategy outlines two key objectives:

  • To support the decarbonisation of transport system, which is currently responsible for 90% of domestic carbon emissions, without impacting on personal mobility.
  • To support the UK technology and manufacturing industries by providing a market for sustainable low-carbon technologies

2.2One of the strategy’s key recommendations for local areas has already started in Hertfordshire. The East of England has been awarded £3m funding from the Government’s Plugged-In Places initiative to provide match-funding to install 600 initial electric vehicle charging points in public places, of which 105 are proposed to be installed across Hertfordshire and Luton.

2.3However, in order to develop a recharging network necessary to support a viable electric vehicle market the National Strategy outlines further actions, including those involving local authorities, which will need to be taken beyond the Plugged-In Places funding to develop an electric car infrastructure.

2.4This paper outlines the progress to date in electric vehicle provision in Hertfordshire, and seeks the Panel’s preliminary views on how the County Council should develop its future strategy on electric vehicles.

3.Recommendation

3.1That the Panel:

  • Acknowledges the recommendations from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy and progress on delivering electric vehicle infrastructure in Hertfordshire to date;
  • Provides a preliminary view on the County Council’s future role in developing electric vehicle infrastructure (including a consideration of the potential measures suggested in section 5). Officers then to engage with other transport authorities, district councils, DfT and other partners to seek experience and views on possible roles and responsibilities.

4.Background

Government Strategy (June 2011)

4.1The Government published its electric vehicle (EV) strategy entitled ‘Making the Connection: the Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy’ on 30th June 2011. The strategy sets out its motivation for developing an EV strategy:

"The shift to ultra-low emissions vehicles presents unique environmental and economic opportunities for the UK. It offers the potential to decarbonise road transport while still enabling mobility and stimulating the kind of green jobs and investment that we require to help rebalance our economy."

4.2.The strategy summarises how it expects charging infrastructure to be developed in local areas:

“Local leaders and initiatives in cities, towns and communities will have an important role in stimulating the provision of infrastructure in their areas. Those involved in Plugged-In Places projects will make a critical contribution to the development of national infrastructure. Others should look to the experience of these and projects elsewhere, such as in Amsterdam or Paris, to assess how such schemes might fit with their local priorities and could be promoted through tools such as local planning policy.”

4.3The strategy specifies a need for three types of charging in local areas:

1. Home charging:

  • The Government’s preferred option for electric vehicle charging is at home.
  • 65% of UK homes have off-street parking, and this demographic are also most likely to invest in new electric vehicles
  • Smart-metering would enable charging to take place at night-time when demand on the national grid is at its lowest and electricity cheapest.
  • Plug-in vehicles represent a potentially valuable market for electricity manufacturers - British Gas, EDF Energy and npower have recently announced home installation packages for EV charging, alongside low overnight off-peak tariffs.
  • Charging at home would also reduce carbon emissions - the marginal carbon intensity of night-time off-peak electricity is 55% lower than electricity generated at the peak of the evening peak.
  1. Work-place charging:
  • The Government wants workplaces to be used primarily for top-up charging by commuters, although it will be the main recharging location for some plug-in vehicles, such as fleet vehicles
  • The current favourable taxation regime through Enhanced Capital Allowances and Company Car Tax exemptions for plug-in vehicles, as well as running cost savings, mean that plug-in vehicles are increasingly a commercial option for many fleet purchasers.
  • Plug-in vehicles are also likely to represent an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their leadership on sustainability and potentially differentiate themselves from competitors.
  • The commuter requirement for electric vehicle charging facilities is expected to materialise in the medium to long term.
  1. Public place charging:
  • The Government does not want to see a charge-point ‘on every corner’ which would be under-utilised and require an unaffordable level of public subsidy;
  • However the National Strategy supports a targeted charging infrastructure at publicly accessible places where it is needed and is commercially viable;
  • It is anticipated that publicly accessible charging points would be primarily funded by the private sector through a range of potential revenue streams including the sale of electricity, infrastructure as part of a wider mobility service and the sale of ancillary services, such as wi-fi hosting in public infrastructure.

The new National Planning Policy Framework (July 2011)

4.4In order to support the National Strategy, the Government has proposed the inclusion of policy on plug-in vehicle infrastructure in the National Planning Policy Framework, published for consultation in July 2011. This policy will encourage local authorities to consider adopting policies to include plug-in vehicle recharging infrastructure in new domestic developments. The proposed wording is:

  1. Local Plan strategies should protect and exploit opportunities for the use of sustainable transport modes for the movement of goods or people.

Therefore, developments should be located and designed where practical to:

* incorporate facilities for charging electric and other low emission vehicles;

  1. When setting local standards for residential and non-residential development, local planning authorities should take into account:

* an overall need to reduce the use of high-emission vehicles…

Electric Vehicles in Hertfordshire

4.5The county council does not currently have a strategy for electric vehicle infrastructure provision, however there is an Electric Vehicle Policy within the Local Transport Plan 2011-2031, which states:

“The county council will support the provision of infrastructure and facilities to enable and encourage the use of electric and electric hybrid vehicles.”

4.6The County Council is also a partner in the East of England ‘EValu8’ project, which has been funded by the Government’s Plugged-In Places programme. Evalu8 Transport Innovations Ltd, a not for profit company set up by the University of Hertfordshire, has received £3m from the Plugged-In Places programme to 50% match-fund the installation of 600 electric charging points across the East of England Region.

4.7The Evalu8 project has proposed the installation of 105 charging posts across Hertfordshire and Luton. As part of this, the County Council received 4 ‘free’ posts (100% funded) for early installation in 2011. These posts are in the process of being installed at County Hall, Watford (Bushey Arches car park), Dacorum (Maylands Business Centre) and Welywn Hatfield (Howardsgate).

4.8Further posts will be implemented by local authorities and other private sector partners, as part of the Evalu8 project across Hertfordshire.

4.9Whilst not currently a particular problem,an uptake in electric vehicles could increase the usage of some categories of electric vehicles (e.g. electric cycles) on Rights of Way, and any negative impacts of this would need to be mitigated as part of any future HCC Strategy on electric vehicles. Whilst legislation already exists to control the use of electric vehicles on Rights of Way (for example the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle regulations restricts the motor capacity and speed at which electric cycles can travel, and Invalid Carriage legislation provides a speed limit for mobility scooters), the Panel should be aware that enforcement of these regulations may need to be enhanced to minimise conflict between EV users and other Rights of Way users.

Developing Hertfordshire’s ‘Electric Vehicle innovation cluster’

4.10 In addition to the physical installation of recharging infrastructure, there is significant potential for Hertfordshire’s research, technology and manufacturing industries to benefit from an increased demand and usage of electric vehicles. The County commissioned a report from Oxford Economics in October 2009 "A Low Carbon Economy for Hertfordshire." Two of the recommendations of the report were to:

  • Explore the potential for a Hertfordshire low carbon technology cluster and related support package; and
  • Create a sustainable transport and communications infrastructure to reduce local vehicle dependence and green the local distribution sector.

4.11The East of England Low Carbon Cluster Innovation Study (2009) identified that over 18% of the UK’s market value (in terms of design, development and sale of low carbon vehicles) originates in the East of England region. Hertfordshire is ideally placed to capitalise upon this, building on the existing research and development already taking place at theUniversity of Hertfordshire to join the cluster of EV research and development companies already located in adjacent counties (including Nissan and CranfieldUniversity in Bedfordshire, and Cosworth and Ricardo in Cambridgeshire)

4.12Development of an electric vehicle cluster would support The County Economic Strategy (adopted in June 2010) which had as one of its objectives “To create a vibrant, low carbon economy”. It is suggested that the Local Enterprise Partnership could be invited to investigate developing a local electric vehicle infrastructure cluster further through two of its sub-groups:

  • The Enterprise and Innovation Board
  • The Strategic Infrastructure Board

5.Next steps for Hertfordshire County Council

5.1Responsibilities for delivering electric vehicle infrastructure are split between a number of bodies, including local authorities, the private sector (including electricity companies) and national government. This section identifies those which are within the remit of local transport authorities and outlines future options for how the County Council could approach this.

5.2The Panel is invited to come to a preliminary view on the extent to which the County Council should proceed with proactively supporting and delivering electric vehicle infrastructure. Potential actions that could be taken forward by officersinclude:

Strategic engagement

  • Developing a strategic approach to ensuring Hertfordshire develops an effective and comprehensive electric vehicle charging network, potentially including a Hertfordshire Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy (as a further LTP3 daughter document)
  • Potentially supporting infrastructure development through funding, including bidding for external funding where appropriate
  • Acting as a proactive partner in multi-authority and cross-sector electric infrastructure schemes, such as the Plugged In Places initiative.
  • Promoting development of the County’s electric vehicle technology and manufacturing industry cluster, potentially through the Local Enterprise Partnership

Operational engagement

  • Helping to ensuring provision for electric vehicles are maximised in new planning developments
  • Including electric vehicle promotion through other County Council programmes, including travel planning.
  • Installation of electric charging points at County Council properties and on the county council’s network.
  • Encouraging the uptake of charging infrastructure at non-CountyCouncil owned sites in Hertfordshire.

5.3Transport authorities, district councils, energy suppliers and other EV charging delivery agencies will all be giving consideration to appropriate ways forward in delivering the Government’s EV Strategy. Following the steer given by Panel, officers will work up a potential work programme of activity to be brought back to a subsequent panel meeting.

6.Financial Implications

6.1There are no financial implications arising from this paper at this time. Initial investigation and strategy development by officers would take place within existing budgets.

Background Papers

Making the Connection, The Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, Department for Transport, June 2011

Appendix 1: LTP3 Electric Charging Policy

3.9 Electric Vehicles

Improvements to the internal combustion engine will continue to reduce vehicular emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants over the next few decades, but to achieve the nation’s present emission targets there is a general consensus that the adoption of new technologies is required. Of the technology available, electric (battery electric or plug-in hybrid) vehicles (EVs) are the closest to being in regular use.

Boasting zero emissions at point of use and carbon dioxide emissions 30-40% lower than petrol or diesel-fuelled vehicles (compared to current UK electricity sources), EVs are considered to have the potential to significantly contribute to tackling both local and global environmental challenges in the future.

Progress towards mass commercialisation has however been slowed by a number of obstacles, primarily relating to technology, risk and cost. In particular while most EVs can be charged using the household supply they have a short journey range before they need recharging. This makes them more suited to urban environments where trips may be short and where infrastructure for recharging can be more readily provided.

If the potential of EVs, electric scooters, motorcycles, cars, vans and light trucks, is to be realised by Hertfordshire’s residents and businesses there is a need for suitable charging infrastructure. The availability and visibility of infrastructure will generate consumer interest and aid the confidence of those considering the purchase of an EV.


The policy below represents the council’s current view of the developing electric vehicle sector. However, the technology involved with electric vehicles and charging infrastructure is expected to advance significantly over the next decade as will the attitudes and behaviour of EV owners. There are also a number of factors which may negatively impact the viability of installing a charging infrastructure, including energy prices and security as well as the current high prices of purchasing and the uncertainly in the costs of EV maintenance. The policy therefore will need to be reviewed on a continual basis.

The county council will support stakeholders (including district councils), where appropriate, to implement charging points in workplaces and public areas which are compatible for vehicles produced by various manufacturers and using different charging units to ensure competitor device compatibility moves forwards. Ideally charging points should be in highly visible locations but stakeholders should ensure any new infrastructure and facilities minimise the increase in street furniture and do not disrupt the aesthetic value of the location or the free flow of traffic. Each charging point should be implemented with minimal ground works required and where possible, should be able to charge more than one vehicle at the same time, thus negating the need for further installations. Safety will be a critical factor when deciding which charging point design to implement for the network. Other infrastructure and facilities may be supported where it is considered appropriate.

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