31st July 2017

Strata Energy News

54% Electric Vehicles by 2040

How will the Strata Industry respond to rapidly increasing demand for electric vehicles
July was a huge month for Electric Vehicles (EVs). Besides Queensland's announcement of their EV superhighway running up to Cairns we also saw the first Tesla Model 3 rolling off the production line. Volvo announced they will only produce electric or hybrid cars within 2 years. India announced it will only sell electric vehicles by 2030. France and then Britain also announced their plans to eliminate diesel and petrol vehicles entirely by 2040. 
A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) predicts that electric vehicles will make up 54% of new car sales worldwide by the same time, 2040. The inability to charge is quoted as a reason why it won’t be a much higher figure.

Current forecasts anticipate EV will hit the market much faster than previous predictions. This is due to quicker than expected drops in battery pricing, and electric vehicles themselves, as well as governments creating action on climate change.

“The real take-off for EVs will happen from the second half of the 2020s when, first, electric cars become cheaper to own on a lifetime-cost basis than ICE models; and, second – arguably an even more important moment psychologically for buyers – when their upfront costs fall below those of conventional vehicles.” 

For strata buildings, the charging of electric vehicles creates a number of unique challenges such as capacity, access, and the connection and installation of multiple EV chargers. 

The installation of the first couple of EV chargers in a strata building can be relatively straight forward, but if not done with consideration of the future demands, will likely create significant and potentially costly to resolve issues later.

The "EV Charging in Strata" studies in NSW and QLD (ongoing) by Wattblock and a number of industry partners including Sydney City Council and Griffith University have already revealed some very interesting trends.

The number of permission requests to body corporates to install EV chargers, as well as the number of EV chargers already installed, has been eye opening. Strata managers and body corporates are unsure of the issues, and how to handle the requests. We have seen a number of cases where permission to install is either being granted without consideration for future requirements, or the decision is being put in the too hard basket.

The capacity of strata buildings to handle the extra load generated by multiple electric vehicles is the biggest issue, and will require discussion and planning from body corporates, as well the adoption of new bi-laws and policies. Energy efficiency projects can help expand a building’s capacity, so too can load management and there are a number of ways to do this.

A number of new and existing strata buildings are pre-wiring entire car parks in anticipation of the coming demand for EV. How such costs are to be managed is another consideration.

Electric Vehicles are coming, and the sooner body corporates start planning for them the easier it will be.

For further reading try Wired and CNN Tech.  You can also download a copy of the BNEF report Electric Vehicle Outlook (Registration required).

Scott Witheridge
Contributor, Strata Energy News 

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Queensland for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment (including meter board assessment).  Read more about the program here.
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