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Falling battery costs mean electric cars
could be as cheap as oil-powered by 2025
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The falling cost of batteries used in electric
vehicles (EVs) could mean the cost of
buying an electric car will be the same as
a petrol or diesel car within eight years,
according to Bloomberg New Energy
Finance. The finding comes as the price
of oil has risen but long-term forecasts
increasingly suggest the richer and
developing countries will become less
dependent on oil consumption.
The growth in the EV market in recent
years has come about thanks to state
subsidies and cheaper running costs that
help to offset the higher cost of buying
an electric vehicle. At some stage the cost
of buying EVs and internal combustion
engine cars will be the same, but that point
has been assumed to be a long way in the
future.
Now new research from Bloomberg
suggests that it may be as soon as 2025.
In addition, Renault says total ownership
costs of EVs will be on a level with
traditional cars by the early 2020s. A
spokesperson for Bloomberg said ‘People
will start to adopt them [EVs] more as price
parity gets closer. After that it gets even
more compelling.’
The cost reductions in EVs come at a time
when stricter regulations affecting petrol
and diesel cars come into effect to tackle
climate change and air pollution, thereby
narrowing the price gap.
More significantly, a view is emerging
Contents
NEWS 3-7
NEWS FEATURE 8-9
Renewable power generation technologies
are now cost competitive with fossil fuels,
but which will have the most impact on
the industry?
OPINION 10-11
Government urged to ensure affordable
smart meter tariffs.
Plus, the 10-year rollercoaster ride for the
Photon Energy company and the solar PV
sector.
STORAGE INNOVATION 12-15
Award-winning SolarWATT shows why
that demand for oil among the developed
nations may have peaked, as alternative
technologies (like EVs) and energy
efficiency reduce the need for oil. The
business management consultancy Roland
Berger argues in a report published last
month that as developing countries such
as China and India industrialise, they will
use oil more efficiently than the developed
countries did. This could mean that the
producers of oil from shale will find their
investments were only of short-lived
viability as demand falls but production
costs rise.
Research for the European Climate
Foundation indicates that where climate
policies are implemented to drive
investment in low-carbon technologies,
research and safety really pay off in the
storage sector.
PRODUCTS 18-19
The best new products available on the
renewables market
COMMERCIAL 20-21
Major projects focusing on renewable
innovation.
CASE STUDIES 22-23
Cutting-edge projects from around the UK
COMMUNITY 24-25
Specialist support for community energy
groups arrives in Dorset
COVER STORY 26-27
Cracking the ground source code: A guide
to ground source heat pumps
demand for oil from transport will be
significantly lower. This would result in oil
prices stabilising to between $83 and $87
per barrel in the long run – rather than
increasing to $90 per barrel by 2030 and
over $130 per barrel by 2050 in a business
as usual scenario.
Bloomberg has also produced figures on
how much oil is being saved (or ‘displaced’)
by the growth in electric vehicles. The first
year for which it has figures is 2011, in
which 300 barrels a day were saved. This
had risen to 17,000 barrels a day by the end
of 2016, and is expected to reach 28,400
barrels by the end of this year. It also says
sales of EVs were up 55% in 2016 from
2015, which is a slower rate of increase
from 2014-15.
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