In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
- Good Energy and ZapMap offer the first EV “time-of-use” free tariff powered by 100% clean electricity.
- Here’s how you can take a virtual EV drive with race car driver Leilani Münter, and also ask her questions.
- UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.
Free, clean EV charging in the UK
Electric car owners in the UK will soon be able to charge their cars for free when the countries’ clean energy sources are generating extra solar and wind power. When excess clean energy is available, EV drivers will be sent a notification, 24 hours in advance, about a four-hour “flash window” where charging will be free.
Anyone who has ever owned a petrol or diesel car in the UK will know what a big deal this is, costwise. For example, it cost me £60 ($83) to fill up my Volkswagen Golf. It’s a big incentive to switch to an electric car.
It will be the UK’s first EV “time-of-use” tariff powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Clean power company Good Energy and ZapMap, a UK-wide map of charging points, are partnering to offer the free charging service. The tariff will be enabled by smart metering, and Good Energy will roll out smart EV chargers and an updated app to work alongside the new product. It will initially be launched in beta phase.
The flash periods will vary by day. The Summer Flash Period will run from April to September between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Winter Flash Period will run from October to March between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Good Energy CEO Juliet Davenport said:
Britain generates so much renewable electricity it only makes sense for us all to take advantage of this free resource. The new ‘flash’ tariff will offer people the chance to benefit from free, green power when the wind and sun are strongest. Electric vehicle drivers are already doing their bit for the climate – here’s a chance for them to go one step further and support a truly clean energy grid.
ZapMap cofounder Melanie Shufflebotham also said:
The electric vehicle market is changing rapidly, and we need to keep up. There will be over 70 pure electric models available to buy in 2021 and the UK now has close to 500,000 plug-in vehicles on the road.
This innovative tariff is supporting these seismic shifts by offering drivers a cheaper and greener way of charging their vehicle. Zap Flash goes above and beyond what’s currently on the market by listening to what people want and helping them go electric.
Take an e-drive with Leilani Münter
Want to take a virtual EV ride & drive with race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter? It’s free! You just have to sign up here.
Join Münter, along with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Natural Resources Defense Council, for an Earth Week webinar where she’ll take you through the paces in her electric car and explain why she’s an advocate for electric transport powered by clean energy.
Münter’s ride & drive is on Saturday, April 24, from 1-2 p.m. ET. Sports Illustrated named Münter one of the top 10 female race car drivers in the world, so it’s bound to be fun. She’ll answer live questions asked by viewers after the ride.
She’s a big Tesla fan, too, having purchased a Model S in 2013. She even got a standing ovation from Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the first annual TESLIVE gathering of Tesla owners the same year.
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
