Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Pwyllgor Newid Hinsawdd, yr Amgylchedd a Seilwaith | Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee
Gwefru cerbydau trydan | Electric vehicle charging
Ymateb gan Unigolyn | Evidence from Individual
The plan is more a set of aspirations. The details to achieve the plan are sketchy and incomplete. Without doubt, the aspirations in the plan are much needed and I support the aims. However, some of the aims are already out of date and miss the point. Particularly the references to 50kW rapid chargers which are now yesterday's technology. Most modern EVs now charge at 100kW or more and to future proof rapid charging provision Wales should be installing 150kW (or faster) chargers.
In my view very little progress has been made in charging infrastructure since the plan was published. The (not very) rapid chargers to be provided through Transport for Wales have not materialised - only 3 are installed at two sites making vast areas of mid and north Wales no-go areas for smaller battery EVs. There really needs to be a step change in the speed of this roll-out.
Raising questions with the responsible minister elicits a wordy but insubstantial response on the expected timeframe for rollout, while Transport for Wales and SWARCO both ignore requests for this information. Time for a shake up of the roll-out team to speed up provision.
County councils are making some progress in North Wales, the area where I live. I'm not able to write about the rest of Wales. Anglesey has made excellent strides and has good (not very) rapid charging provision, but lacks longer duration destination charging in my experience. Denbighshire is doing well with provision in the more densely populated areas at the coast, which a good mix of public and private company provision. The Rhyl charging hub will give good destination charging options for visitors and locals alike. Denbighshire are lagging in the inland towns, despite publishing plans for public fast charging over a year ago, no chargers have appeared. Llangollen should be a priority given the dependence on tourism but has zero chargers at present. The omission of rapid charging in the plan for Llangollen seems to be a glaring omission which will force EV drivers to spend their money in Chirk McDonalds or Rhug Farm Shop as there is no option to charge in Llangollen. Flintshire has started a roll out of publicly provided destination chargers but these seem to limited to just Flint itself and the rest of the county has very limited provision. Conwy remains a charging wasteland with only a few unreliable chargers provided by private companies. Gwynedd needs to do much more to encourage / install destination type chargers to encourage longer stays by EV owners when they need a charge. Rapid charging in Gwynedd is virtually non-existent.
Summary is that even with a long range EV I would be hesitant at venturing into mid-Wales and North West Wales and would always plan my charging stops with a back up in mind.
I think no progress has been made and one of the greatest blockers to this (and also the charger roll out) is SP Energy networks.
First of all I'd like to re-iterate the point that 50kW charging is now 'old-hat' and that the aim should be to provide a minimum 'speed' of 150kW to match modern EV requirements. Wherever possible higher than 150kW charging should be provided as future proofing.
That said, very little has been achieved in enhancing rapid charging provision. As stated in the answer to question 9, the rapid chargers that TfW and SWARCO are supposed to provide have not materialised despite the project now being in progress for 18 months. Some councils but far from all, have made some progress in providing rapid charging in their areas in places where the commercial proposition is not so favourable. The private sector is doing better where high demand can be identified and this has improved provision on major routes, but it is notable that the A55 still does not have a rapid charging hub (4 or more chargers) on its length and very spare rapid charger provision in general after the demise of the Ecotricity Charging network. I am aware of several sites on the A55 where charging provision is held up due to waiting for a grid connection to be provided by SP Energy Networks. The same DNO (SP Energy Networks) were the cause of delay to the opening of the charging hub at Rhug on the A5 and as previously mentioned are a blocker to the improvements to electricity supply and charging provision.
Beth yw eich barn am y cynnydd a wnaed yn erbyn Cam Gweithredu 4: Safonau ansawdd Cymru?
No view.
No view.
No view.
I think public awareness of electric cars is increasing all the time. Unfortunately, a 'not for me' attitude is forming due to high costs and perceived lack of infrastructure. It is still unusual to see chargers in Welsh towns, especially away from south east Wales. To improve public awareness and perception of EV a great many more destination chargers needs to be put in place. Progress has been made by the general public discourse over the past year, due in no small part to the energy crisis facing many people.
No view.
No view.
Overall a good set of aspirations but execution is slow. Physical infrastructure needs to be put in place now and at pace to ensure momentum is not lost. Already the rapid charging discussion is out of date by talking about 50kW chargers when 150kW is more appropriate.
Execution of the strategy needs to speed up dramatically.