London Gets EV-Charging Lampposts

Electric vehicle charging facilities which draw on 100% renewable energy from street lampposts are set to be placed on the streets of Kensington and Chelsea, creating the largest network of its kind in central London.

A project between the borough council and tech companies OVO and Ubitricity will fast track the installation of 50 charging points, edie.net reported.

Following a trial earlier this year, Ubitricity’s ‘SimpleSockets’ will be available 24/7. The charge points will help cater for a growing demand for EV charging facilities in the area, Kensington and Chelsea Councilor Gerard Hargreaves said.

“Most residents do not have access to off-street parking to charge an electric vehicle,” he said. “Retro-fitting street lamps with charging technology allows drivers to conveniently charge their vehicles closer to home, while helping to tackle air pollution in London.

“Lamp post charging is also more cost-effective and much less obtrusive as the charging points require no additional street furniture.”

Half of Londoners have put off purchasing an EV due to a lack of charging infrastructure, according to research commissioned by OVO. The company’s solution is marketed as “affordable as well as accessible” – it comes with a low tariff of 20 cents per kWh of electricity. The new charge points will be installed from this month and are expected to be operational by the end of January 2018.

Customers have two pricing options to access the network: either purchase a cable with an inbuilt electricity meter for £199 ($260) and join Ubitricity’ s monthly subscription scheme for £7.99 ($10.5) per month with a charge of 15p/kWh for electricity used, or buy a cable for £299 ($393) with no monthly subscription and a 19p/kWh charge.