Electrical Contracting News (ECN) February 2017 | Page 48

SPECIAL FEATURE

SPECIAL FEATURE

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES & EV INFRASTRUCTURE

DRIVING INTO THE MAINSTREAM

There can be little doubt that electric vehicle charging facilities are fast becoming a major requirement for commercial locations . Kieron Alsop , managing director of Rolec EV , highlights the benefits of making the switch .
Electric vehicles are now becoming a more desirable mainstream product .

On the back of ever increasing sales of electric vehicles ( EVs ) and plugin hybrid electric vehicles ( PHEV ), more and more commercial and public facing sites are requiring the installation of EV charging points .

In addition to the huge demand for EVs , the government is further supporting the industry by investing millions of pounds to encourage the uptake of EVs and the installation of charging points within the commercial and public sectors .
The latest government incentive to have been announced is the Workplace Charging Scheme ( WCS ), which offers businesses , charities and public sector bodies up to £ 6,000 towards the installation of EV charging units .
Rolec EV has developed an extensive range of EV charging units which have been approved under the WCS government scheme and qualify for funding .
The opportunities for the electrical contractor within the EV charging industry are now significant and come at a time when many contractors are looking for an alternative to the perceived declining photovoltaic ( PV ) business .
With the world ’ s vehicle manufacturers investing billions of pounds into EV manufacture , and in particular range extending battery technology , electric vehicles are now becoming a more desirable mainstream product - resulting in requirements for electric vehicle charging on a huge scale .
Rolec EV has developed an extensive range of EV charging units which have been approved under the WCS government scheme and qualify for funding .
Over the past two years in particular we have witnessed an unprecedented demand for the installation of EV charging points , and have ourselves recently hit the 50,000 charge point manufactured mark and are now gearing up to doubling this figure during 2017 .
With companies such as VW projecting their own imminent EV sales targets will exceed one million vehicles per year , it looks like electrical contractors are set to have a very busy future ahead of them .
48 | February 2017