Beginning in 2022, all new English homes must have EV chargers installed
The new laws are intended to smooth the transition of customers to EVs.
With electric vehicles such as the Lucid Air becoming not only more prevalent but also encouraged on a governmental level, many non-EV owners have wondered, "How will we charge them?" Because of our vast geography, the United States has (largely) handled problem by placing charging stations along existing routes. However, in a nation like England, land is more difficult to obtain and set aside for just EV charging.
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As a result, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed new legislation requiring all new residences and building projects to incorporate EV chargers as part of the final product. "The driver driving that transition will not be government; it will not even be business," Johnson remarked on November 21, 2021, at the Confederation of British Industry conference. "It will be the consumer's fault. Young people today will be able to recognise the impacts of climate change and will want more from us."
England Currently Doesn't Have Enough Chargers
All of this is significant since the United Kingdom has mandated that new gasoline or diesel car sales be replaced by electric vehicles by 2030. At the same time, major automakers have already vowed to phase out internal combustion vehicle manufacturing or significantly boost EV production between 2025 and 2030.
There are now just 25,000 charging sites in the UK, not nearly enough to accommodate the current number of EVs. The Competition and Markets Authority, a division of the UK's Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, calculated that the country would require ten times that amount to fulfil the 2030 EV target.
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Will This Resolve England's Difficulty with EV Chargers?
While include an EV charger in the designs for any new house or company is a smart idea, it will not be the complete solution. Even in England, there are locations with little inhabitants, yet it would be beneficial to have EV infrastructure in these areas because they are typically located between big cities and counties. These stretches aren't as long as the hundreds of miles between population centres that we see in the United States, but they're still long enough to merit a charging station or two to aid visitors make their trip.
As the Labour Party pointed out in response to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, "More public automobile charging outlets are available in London and the South East than in the whole of England and Wales combined. However, there is nothing here to aid with this." If you've ever seen a UK TV show or YouTube channel, you're surely aware that the north and west of the country are primarily rural.
Labour also pointed out that no statements had been made regarding how the country will assist low- and middle-income families and people in affording new EVs. Nor would England invest in other necessary EV manufacturing technologies, such as gigafactories, to generate the batteries required by EVs. Installing EV chargers in new buildings isn't a terrible idea; it simply might not be the whole solution that England and the UK require.
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