In recent weeks, there’s been lots of focus in the news about tackling air quality issues, and what measures we must put into place to achieve clean air zones in certain parts of the UK.
With new reports highlighting the need to reduce pollution levels, particularly in cities, the spotlight is on Diesel-powered vehicles and the harmful emissions they produce. Diesel engines affect the air quality problem through the production of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).
To elaborate; very fine soot can penetrate the lungs and is thought to contribute to cardiovascular illness and possibly even death. Nitrogen oxide contributes to ground level ozone which is thought to worsen respiratory difficulties, even for people without a history of breathing problems.
The concern has led to cities including, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens committing to the ban of diesel vehicles by 2025. And, although the UK hasn’t yet committed to the ban deadline, we’ve heard from Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London who has more than doubled the funding to clean up London’s air.
The spend has risen from £425M to £875M over the next 5 years. The plans include potentially introducing the world’s first Ultra Low Emissions Zone early than anticipated. Also, removing older more polluting vehicles from central London, and introducing 5 Low emission neighbourhoods spanning 8 boroughs. I suspect where London leads, other cities in the UK will follow.
Leading the way, car manufacturers such as Tesla, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Volkswagen and BMW have embraced this change by producing some impressive electric cars and last year saw the number of electric cars on the world’s roads pass the 1 million mark for the first time in history.
We’ve always been a proactive business when it comes to change and keeping up with the developing needs of our industry and clients. Our energy efficient cooling technology for commercial premises and data centres, and our commitment to a greener future, has put us in good stead to support the transition to EV’s throughout the UK.
As of December 2016, there are 11,879 EV charging points at 4230 locations in the UK with more installations every day. Given our experience of integrated power solutions and Uninterruptible Power Supply, we’ve successfully installed our first charging points within the local area.
It’s interesting to see that businesses are now supporting green initiatives like electric cars by introducing charging points at work. Following recent work with some major energy upgrades, we were contracted to undertake the installation of several charging points in the car park of a local business, keen to encourage staff to switch to electric and drive green.
As things develop and more consumers and businesses invest in electric cars, we hope to support the demand for growth of the charging network, continuing our efforts to make the world a little greener each day.