Enthusiasm for electric vehicles is rapidly increasing. UK businesses are investing more than £15 billion in electrifying their vehicle fleets in the next year, and a third of businesses with company cars would consider installing EV charging points at employees’ homes. Alongside that, Ofgem is investing in 3,500 EV charging stations network around the UK’s towns and major road network.
All of this is extremely welcome. But with more and more of our vehicles and appliances powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels, major upgrades to the UK’s electricity infrastructure are becoming more and more urgent.
For renewable energy developers, the UK is like a house with no spare sockets. In areas of the country that are critically important for new wind and solar development, the electricity grid is already at capacity, inhibiting development of new renewable energy. Urgent investment in the electricity grid in remote parts of the country would unlock enormous potential for new renewable energy generation, reducing energy prices and enabling a smoother transition to a carbon-free future.