Figure out your future energy needs, and talk to your energy provider asap to ensure you will have the power for your future fleet of electric cars, trucks and plant.
That was a key message from a keynote speaker at the 2024 IPWEA Fleet Conference in Brisbane to an audience of nearly 200 fleet managers and administrators from government and business.
“We have more than enough energy in the system and we will build more than enough energy in the system,” said Jack Kotlyar, head of green transport at energy retailer Energy Australia, adding, “Where the challenge will be, where the opportunity will be, is can we get your energy to your particular sites?”
Kotlyar was speaking in Brisbane, late March, at the Fleet Conference organised by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia.
He cited a bus company in New South Wales spending about $50 million to introduce 50 electric buses (at about $1 million each bus) and then discovering they didn’t have the capacity to charge them on site. They waited a year for the power upgrade to be able to get the buses operational from the site.
As Kotlyar explained energy companies are not only looking after transport companies; they are looking after hospitals, shopping centres, street lights etcetera.
To be sure, existing poles and wires currently have spare capacity but as electric vehicle fleets grow that overcapacity will dry up, said Kotlyar.
“So, it’s on a first come, first serve and you effectively reserve your energy. It’s really important that as you plan forward, you say, in 2024-2025, I’ll have my depot ready, I’ll have 10 vehicles out of my 100 that are going to be electrified, I need this amount of energy,” said Kotlyar.
“With that information, we can go to the distribution businesses and secure that energy. The critical thing is your competitors are doing that. And so you need to get first in line. There will be a contest.”
As he talked about the challenges and opportunities of electrifying transportation and decarbonising energy systems, he urged those responsible for fleets to take action:
- Start planning early to determine feasibility of electrifying fleet, get cost estimates, and technical requirements.
- Get in the queue as soon as possible with distribution businesses to reserve energy capacity needed for fleet electrification by specific dates.
- Install solar panels at depot sites to generate cheaper renewable energy and avoid higher peak grid prices.
- Add stationary batteries at depots to store solar energy and reduce peak demand charges.
- Open fast chargers at depots for public use to create new revenue stream.
- Start upgrading electrical infrastructure at depots early to handle increased EV charging demand.
Meanwhile, solar and battery storage is becoming more economical with multiple use cases, including energy bill management and back-up power during grid outages.
