The Wedding, the Power and the Electric Vehicle

​As apartment dwellers worldwide tuned into the Royal wedding, a most traditional family was making a statement.

​​When Prince Harry opened the door of the 1968 E-Type Jag for his new bride, Meghan Markle, the Royal Family was making a statement. While he only drove her 800m down the road to the next party, the vintage car had been retrofitted with an electric drive train sporting a 220kW engine.

​It was a quiet ride and one which reduced air pollution for the onlookers.
 
If you are guessing what a concept electric Jaguar costs, it might set you back a cool 350,000 quid. This is a little more expensive than the electric Teslas, BMW’s and Outlanders in Australia’s strata buildings today….but an important sign of the times.
 
The Royal couple had just triggered the 4th largest surge in power demand in the history of Britain’s National Grid registering 2,400 Megawatts. The only three events which were ahead of them were two world cup soccer semi-finals and the conclusion of an episode of the Thorn Birds in 1984!
 
There has been an improvement in energy efficiency in Britain since Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981, where the additional power surge of 1800 Megawatts experienced was the equivalent of boiling 720,000 kettles at the same time.
 
This most recent wedding was on a bank holiday weekend, which means a few more people might have left town. The power spike shows that the impact of people being in the streets was not enough to outweigh the TV interest in the trans-atlantic union.
 
As well as sharing the power of love, the royal couple shared a love for change and a sustainable energy future.

​For further reading try Nigel Lewis.

Brent Clark
CEO, Wattblock

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.