blog: Supercharge Me!
Tuesday 5th April 2022
Having owned an electric vehicle (EV) for just over a year, I feel I am a bit of a pro when it comes to knowing my charging points. At the moment, you have to be! In the UK, there remain five different connector types, a range of charging speeds and an array of providers, each with their own mobile app, prices and charging process.
It is no wonder that those yet to experience the revolution can sometimes find it hard to judge just what is being proposed when it comes to new infrastructure.
Fast vs Rapid
As EV charging becomes an expected part of most new development, our approach from an early level is to determine whether we are talking ‘fast’ or ‘rapid’. With ‘fast’ you are talking about charging times in hours, with ‘rapid’ it is minutes.
Fast charging is suitable for long-stay destinations, particularly where you are likely to be parking overnight. In places where your stay is shorter, rapid charging is for you.
InstaVolt x McDonald’s
With all this complexity, it is important to be able to clearly articulate just what is being proposed and how it will be used. This was just what InstaVolt asked ITP to do, having faced some hurdles when seeking to introduce four new rapid chargers at an existing McDonald’s site in the East Midlands.
Concerns were raised that conversion of the spaces would mean fewer spaces for ‘standard’ vehicles, leading to congestion and overspill. We quickly realised that we needed to set out a full narrative about how the spaces would operate, since the concerns appeared largely to stem from an understandable lack of experience of the technology.
We provided robust evidence around the take-up of electric vehicles nationally, how the plans would help progress decarbonisation strategies, and the limited construction impact. Doing so allowed the application to be swiftly approved with minimal conditions. If you would like more information about how ITP can help with your decarbonisation plans please get in touch.
As for me, I celebrated with a McFlurry whilst charging my car!
