ELECTRICITY network operator SP Energy Networks will speed up plans for the roll-out of electric vehicles across the country by developing an innovative tool to analyse the infrastructure and uptake of electric vehicles, so that every home that wants to will be able to charge an EV.
SP Energy Networks has partnered with analytics consultancy Field Dynamics to develop the EV Up tool, which will allow the network operator to better understand where demand for electric vehicles will come from so that it can plan investment in infra-structure. The tool will be initially used in Central and Southern Scotland, along with Merseyside and Cheshire, before being used across the rest of the UK.
By accurately modelling the infrastructure required to be able to park and charge a vehicle at every residential address in the country, the electric vehicle scenario planning tool will help get preparations under way for communities across the UK to meet government targets for a low-carbon society.
The project aims to help with the challenge network operators are facing in understanding the demands of more people using EVs on the current infrastructure. Working in collaboration with Birmingham-based Field Dynamics, SP Energy Networks will use detailed demographics and a wide range of behavioural indicators to develop the new tool based on real-world experience of electric vehicle ownership.
Scott Mathieson (above), network planning and regulation director at SP Energy Networks, said: “In response to government calls to decarbonise our transport systems, more and more of our customers are moving away from fossil fuel cars towards electric vehicles. At SP Energy Networks we have a wide range of initiatives aimed at helping develop the electricity network to support our customers as they make this transition.”
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