Electric Car Charging Stations Coming to All New European Homes

According to a story in The Guardian by Arthur Neslen, "Every new or refurbished house in Europe will need to be equipped with an electric vehicle recharging point, under a draft EU directive expected to come into effect by 2019." If this initiative goes into effect, the desired outcome would be to even the infrastructure playing field for electric cars, which compete with the established infrastructure already in place for diesel and regular gas. "The EU initiative is intended to lay the infrastructure for the sort of electric car boom envisaged by Norway and the Netherlands, which both plan to completely phase out vehicles with diesel engines by 2025," Neslen reports.

As electric or hybrid electric cars become more powerful, there will be consequences for patterns in electricity use. Power isn't "green" just because it is electric, and Neslen cites a study that concludes, "In the short term, they may lead to a higher than expected sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from road transport." Another change in energy needs will likely come from the use of second-life batteries (which can be topped up with local power from wind and solar generators). Local power storage can radically increase the range of an electric vehicle and Neslen concludes his story with details of a strategic partnership with a second-life project by Renault and a battery operated power station initiative by BMW.