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Cost estimates play an important role in breaking down costs effectively. However, there are several factors on which this breakup depends. Thus, it is quite essential to know about these factors that will help in managing expenses and power consumption easily. So, keep reading on further to understand its nitty gritty in detail.

4 Main Factors Contributing To Cost Estimates Of EV Charging Stations

Equipment

What type of equipment do you need at your electric car charging stations London? You have to be clear with the answer, as different types of equipment at your station can alter the whole budget. The type of charger level that you wish to install at your station will consume the major investment when it comes to equipment expenditure.

Level 1 charging level, which is commonly referred to as a residential charger, uses a dedicated 120V supply to charge the vehicles. The upfront expenditure to install the charger is low, but the charging speed is pretty less. It is not a practical solution to install when you wish to start a commercial EV charging station as it requires long hours to charge the vehicle to its full capacity.

On the other hand, DC charging or Level 3 charging stations use a 480V supply to charge a vehicle in a matter of a few minutes. However, the installation charges for the whole circuit at the station and the equipment cost associated with it are pretty high.

So, most charging station owners opt for Level 2 charging supplies at their EV charging stations which offers a good balance between the overall cost and power. The charging station with Level 2 charging uses a 240V line to charge the vehicles to their full capacity in 6 to 10 hours. Moreover, the overall investment in equipment is pretty less than DC charging.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure plays a crucial role in deciding the cost of the whole commercial EV charging station. Typically a charging station delivers electricity to the incoming vehicles via its connection to a utility company. If you wish to connect to an existing 240V circuit, then you may require an electrician’s services for a few hours. However, if you wish to install a dedicated 480V circuit at your station, then it will hike the overall installment expenditure to thousands of dollars.

An electrical upgrade to a higher voltage circuit involves several expenses that are associated with new electrical panels, cables, meters, transformers, etc. Moreover, the upgrade may need trenching, boring, and cement work to lay all the power lines. 

Software Charges

The commercial EV station owner has to invest in proper software that connects with the utility company and allows them to collect and analyze all the data of the stations. With this data, the company can get deep insights to improve its services and cater to the needs of its users properly. 

Miscellaneous Expenses

Some miscellaneous expenses are associated with the commercial EV charging station, which depends on the custom requirements of the owners. Some may choose custom striping of the parking area and proper signage for smooth traffic management at their stations, while some want protective bollards to protect the machinery and equipment at the station. These expenses can vary as owners have different needs for these station extras.

It is advised to opt for a good partner that is capable of linking with all the parties to install these extras at the station and manage everything properly so that you can reduce the stress on your shoulders.

The Bottom Line

The cost of an electric vehicle charging station constitutes much more than installing a simple charger. For minimum expenses and maximized value, businesses need to take into account these noteworthy factors for smart money saving. 

 

Every year, consumers lean into the green movement, making more and more decisions about where to shop and what to buy based on a company's reverence for the environment.

Understanding and exploring this idea through the lens of energy saving doesn't just make a business more attractive, it can also generate appreciable long-term savings.

Customer Concern

According to an April 2022 study, the environment and sustainability are firmly in the mind of modern consumers. In this survey, 81% of respondents said the environment's future was a prime concern for them, with nearly 80% of US customers making some purchases based on sustainability. 

The exact meaning of sustainability for customers in this survey varied, but it tended to revolve around a business's interest in reducing waste, cutting emissions, and recycling. More than two-thirds of the customers in this survey said they change their shopping habits if a business wasn't operating sustainably.

"20220810-RD-LSC-0308" (Public Domain) by USDAgov

In a modern business, some of the most visible moves made towards a greener motive are found in energy savings. Anything that burns through energy can and will be noted, and this effect will have profound implications for customer retention.

From the right perspective, this ideal offers significant opportunities to explore for savvy businesses, with energy-saving and green solutions aiding both customer interest and business savings.

Energy-Saving Solutions

Fortunately, in the modern environment, cost and energy-saving solutions can cover a wide range of useful products. The most visible of these are LED lighting systems to replace older incandescent bulbs. Though LEDs will often require a slightly higher initial investment, their lower ongoing energy costs and extended lifespans will more than make up the difference by the time they need replacement.

LED bulbs can use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25% longer than traditional solutions, making their adoption a must. 

Similar advantages can be found in practically every part of business systems, where modern solutions are often vastly superior to the status quo. In retail, for example, older automatic hand cleaners are popular, but they can also be energy inefficient.

New solutions like a modern intelligent soap dispenser can allow a hybrid approach, using battery power initially and then falling back to manual operation once the battery is drained. This saves cost over a system that is operable 24/7 and can be better combined with renewable energy sources and smart technology to recharge at the best possible time. 

 

"Fremont Street Experence. Las Vegas." (Public Domain) by Bernard Spragg

 

Going into the 2030s has provided challenges, but the technological era had also continued to provide cutting-edge solutions. With so much emphasis put on green solutions by customers, and with money-saving options being more environmentally friendly than ever, there's never been a better time to step forward into new possibilities. Like the rest of humanity, business needs to look forward, and in doing so see a more cost-efficient horizon.

 

The forecast from Cornwall Insight comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the energy bill help, which was originally expected to last for two years, would be cut in April.

The UK Government said the the most vulnerable families would continue to be protected from increasing energy prices.

Hunt announced the change to the energy price support as part of measures put in place to help families save money following the big hole in the public finances the Government's mini-budget left.

The Chancellor said on Monday that "it would not be responsible to continue exposing public finances to unlimited volatility in international gas prices".

 

Based on expected prices, this will save people £1,000 per annum, she told MPs. This is because, in October, the energy price cap was expected to increase from £1,971 to £3,549.

Businesses are also receiving a six-month support package, which will include “equivalent support”. Further support will be provided to vulnerable industries after the six-month period.

"This is the moment to be bold. We are facing a global energy crisis and there are no cost-free options," the new PM told the Commons.

BP saw underlying profits reach $8.45 billion (£6.9 billion), a figure which is more than triple the sum it made at the same time last year and its second highest figure ever.

In a statement, BP chief executive Bernard Looney said: "Today's results show that BP continues to perform while transforming."

"Our people have continued to work hard throughout the quarter helping to solve the energy trilemma – secure, affordable and lower carbon energy."

"We do this by providing the oil and gas the world needs today – while at the same time, investing to accelerate the energy transition."

The news of BP’s record-high profits comes as energy consultant Cornwall Insight warned regular gas and electricity bills in England, Wales and Scotland could reach £3,615 in January.

Cornwall Insight’s principal consultant, Craig Lowrey, commented, “While the rise in forecasts for October and January is a pressing concern, it is not only the level – but the duration – of the rises that makes these new forecasts so devastating.”

“Given the current level of the wholesale price, this level of household energy bills currently shows little sign of abating into 2024.”

[ymal]

The recent Ukraine war has been the touchpaper for a multi-national cost of living crisis that had in fact been some time in the making. COVID-19, commodity prices and the environmental imperative, to name but three factors, have coincided to push prices of goods and services across the board to all-time highs. The result has been a surge in inflation, with the UK alone now hitting 9% in April.

Just as it was with the pandemic, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘when will this be over?’. Key institutions are scrambling to respond, and governments are introducing short-term, palliative measures in the hope of staving off recession. But the true answer may be that increased prices are here for good. It may be that the world needs to adjust to new realities in the way we buy and live. But what are the key costs causing this crisis for consumers, and how are they likely to change over time?

Energy

The first major culprit in the cost of living crisis is energy. This increase was underway well before the recent war, as wholesale prices had steadily risen in response to increased global demand, and the push towards greener but more expensive energy production.

These factors are here to stay, and while we may see a stabilising over the next two-three years, a return to previous levels is highly unlikely – and that means a new and more challenging ‘normal’ for consumers. This gloomy prognosis is even more likely for Europeans, now deprived of Russian energy sources that will continue to be shut off or severely curtailed for the foreseeable future.

Food

Next comes food. Myriad factors are driving up shopping basket prices, but at the highest level, changing weather patterns around the world are responsible for significant disruption in the way the world farms and produces. Critical foodstuffs have been massively affected by atypical weather events over the past few years. Supply chain disruption caused by COVID-19 is another major contributor, with factories and logistics facilities having to limit and re-configure labour usage to limit the spread of infection. Finally, the drive towards sustainability has seen great increases in production costs, as the world increasingly demands that food is produced in a greener way and under improved labour and animal welfare conditions.

All of these are long-term factors - adjusting to changing weather patterns, for example, could take the world decades to solve, and environmental concerns are unquestionably here to stay. Again, prices may stabilise in the medium term, but a return to previous levels is almost out of the question.

Interest rates

Many central banks, including in the UK and the US, are raising interest rates in an attempt to combat inflation. But while those with savings may benefit, the result is also a significant increase in the cost of consumer borrowing. Mortgage rates are going up, as is the cost of credit at just the time when consumers are having to rely on it more than ever.

These actions could potentially be reversed in the medium term. If inflation can be stabilised, governments might in 2-3 years be in a position to reduce rates once more – but that ray of hope is dependent on a host of other factors in the wider economy.

The value of financial understanding

It seems almost certain that a higher cost of living is here to stay. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about it.

W1TTY is a young finance brand with a growing customer base amongst students and young people. As quickly as we’re taking off, we’re also acutely aware of what our customers are facing in managing their finances as the cost of living crisis continues.

In-depth educational services are needed right now to help young people deal with these issues. With so many facing a tougher challenge in balancing their budgets, it’s never been more important that they’re equipped with the understanding, know-how and responsible signposting that will help them to make prudent decisions about their money.

Young people deserve to have bright financial futures. Through a combination of loyalty and reward schemes, gamified learning and personalised features, W1TTY is about empowering our customers with accessible, engaging education and saving incentives. By doing so, it’s our aim that we can help insulate them from some of the worst impacts of the current crisis.

About the author: Ammar Kutait is the CEO and Founder of W1TTY.

[ymal]

Doh! This year… We all sensed a crisis was coming. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has suddenly crystalised what it is: insecurity in Energy, Food and Commodity markets, the very building blocks of the real global economy. These are real things – unlike the concepts behind bond yields or equity returns.  

Fasten your seat belts… this ride has only just begun

Inflation has now established a firm grip across the global economy, and whatever teenage scribblers and bank analysts say about it peaking… it feels like it is here for the long term. As we demonstrated in 2008, you can pretty much fix a financial problem overnight by throwing money at it. What we are learning today is you can’t fix Germany’s shortage of gas until we build new infrastructure, which will take upwards of two years. You can throw money at broken health services, but you will only fix them by fundamental reform. Money is not a solution.

The financial world and the real world are very different places. The problem is financial models written to explain the complex workings and underpinnings of the financial and monetary economy… we are now discovering they have absolutely nothing in common with how the real economy actually works.

Ukraine was the wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee shock to energy, food and commodity prices that broke the model. The consequences have overturned everything we thought. We were kidding ourselves about how the global economy works. Sophisticated and terribly clever algorithmic financial models predicting financial outcomes have utterly failed to understand the complexity of the real economy, and just how suddenly cascading consequences ripple-like tsunamis through markets, labour and commerce.

Consequences, consequences…

Even now, I don’t think Central bankers really understand just how overturned the apple cart of monetary stability has become! The triggers for new real inflation impacting the global economy in terms of energy, food and commodity prices, and the consequences of higher wage demands are all clear, but the underlying fuel that has now caught fire is less well understood.

Inflation – which I recently described as “the apex predator of the bond market” – is now very real. Balancing rising interest rates as central banks finally acknowledge it’s a problem while putting in place an inflation aware investment strategy to generate returns while balancing the risks of equity markets versus the security of bonds… well, it’s a tricky optimisation game where you can’t know the actual parameters.

One critical point about energy and commodity inflation is how it hit markets as  “no-see-ums”. For readers unfamiliar with my market blog, the Morning Porridge commentary,

No-see-um is something so blindingly obvious and dangerous your mind refuses to acknowledge the likelihood until it’s actually happening. Also important is the concept of how an SEP (Someone Else’s Problem) makes us blind to the consequences of what’s occurring around us.

Central bankers and economists tell us they watch the whole economy. In reality, they all wear blinkers.

Traditionally, a monetarist economist will tell you: “inflation is everywhere a monetary phenomenon”, blaming excessive government debt and monetary creation for the current inflationary woe and sense of crisis. They point to the massive monetary creation since 2012 – when we began QE – and ultra-low interest rates as the drivers of inflation. Until recently, however, we didn’t see any real-world inflation… all the inflation generated by QE was locked up in financial assets, driving bond and equity rallies.

Here’s just part of the problem… As soon as you spot a no-see-um, its effects become very real.

Inflation started to spiral from financial assets into the real world during the pandemic. Suddenly real events – like the container ship, the Evergiven, blocking the Suez Canal highlighted supply chain crises. Today we have Walmart paying truck drivers $100k salaries to ensure supplies – triggering wage inflation across the retail sector. Consequences beget consequences.

The “Monetary Experimentation” we’ve seen since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 in the form of sustained criminally low-interest rates and Quantitative Easing did little to boost growth, but it created extreme financial asset inflation - driving inflation into the bond and equity bull-markets of the last 12 years.

Now that inflation is transferring into the real economy, going back to simple monetary tenets: if the money supply rises, inflation follows. All you need to do is light the blue touch paper to trigger an inflationary explosion. What is now driving inflation is the massive amount of liquidity created by low rates and QE. It’s now fuelling the fires of massive real economic commodity and energy inflation. It proves excessive liquidity creates non-monetary real-world inflationary risks.

And all it took was a trigger. Ukraine and Energy Insecurity. Suddenly Europe woke up to the frightening reality of dependency on Russia for power. And, as the world woke up to the reality that Russia and Ukraine are dominant agricultural suppliers… ouch.

Nothing makes you so aware of reality as a sharp punch in the face. It opens our eyes to finally see the blindingly obvious financial connections hidden in the complexity of the Global financial ecosystem!  Commodities, Food, and Energy – the building blocks of everything in the global economy – have become as much distorted by the last 12 years of monetary experimentation as every other kind of asset….

Here’s just part of the problem… As soon as you spot a no-see-um, its effects become very real. As soon as you realise a “someone else’s problem” is also yours, the consequences magnify and become reinforcing. That’s why the moment you spot a crisis is when it gets more dangerous. That moment has occurred. When market commentators start to compare what is happening today to 2008 – pay close attention. There are parallels – but that one was about a financial collapse. This one is about a real economic crisis.

Abundant liquidity distorts not just rates, but the real economy also. As the prices of labour, shipping, and logistics change due to inflation you need to understand the whys and hows to anticipate their effects. Wages will rise because that’s how wage inflation rises. Logistics will get more expensive because fuel costs have risen. Food prices will rise because fertiliser costs are up and supply is limited. Real-world consequences… trigger further consequences.

The current risks are immense. If central banks get it wrong – and they usually do; policy mistakes cause most recessions - then removing the easy liquidity which has driven the commodities market could trigger a real-world economic crash.

Ofgem, the UK’s energy industry regulator, will allow energy networks to go ahead with a green energy investment programme into the country’s energy infrastructure worth over £40 billion, which will run from 2021 to 2026.

The programme is aimed at improving services, reducing the impact of UK energy networks on the environment, and setting a fairer price for customers.

In addition to a £30 billion initial payment to network companies running the country’s energy grid, Ofgem said it would make “unprecedented additional funding” available for green energy projects to arrive in the future, which will be aimed at reducing emissions from the energy system and eventually hitting net zero targets.

Companies have indicated that £10 billion of such projects could be in the works, though Ofgem added that there is no limit on the additional funding that it could provide, subject to good business cases being presented.

“Our £40 billion package massively boosts clean energy investment,” said Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem. “This will ensure that our network companies can deliver on the climate change ambitions laid out by the prime minister last week, while maintaining world-leading levels of reliability.”

Brearley added that the costs incurred by the new investment “must fall fairly for consumers”, adding that the regulator would reduce the returns paid to shareholders by 40% to bring them closer to current market levels.

[ymal]

Last month, Ofgem said that it is considering lifting its cap on household tariffs by £21 annually to help companies that have been struck by an increase in unpaid bills – meaning that millions of UK customers may pay more for their utility bills from April 2021 to help energy suppliers cover the cost of those unable to pay for energy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oil prices fell sharply during Monday trading after a steady decline that has now continued for two weeks, owing in large part to investor fears of further lockdown measures in response to a surge in the spread of COVID-19.

Come morning trading on Tuesday, it became apparent that oil was holding its losses. Crude hit around $39 per barrel at 8:45 am in London, while Brent sat at around $41 following a 4.5% drop in price on Monday. Both losses stemmed from a broader market sell-off.

The price shock follows the reimplementation of lockdown measures in the UK in response to rising coronavirus cases, with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove advising that Brits should work from home “if possible” to avoid spreading the virus further. Local lockdowns have also come into effect in the Madrid region since Monday, affecting nearly a million people, and the rate of infection is currently rising in France, Belgium and Lebanon.

During the height of the “first wave” in March and April, when lockdown measures were at their most severe, oil prices fell to their lowest level ever seen – West Texas Intermediate even dipping below 0% for the first time in history as demand for oil ran dry.

In addition to the growing possibility of new lockdown measures, Saturday also saw an announcement from the Libyan National Petroleum Company that it would restart its production and exportation of oil, potentially sparking a supply glut.

[ymal]

Last week, oil giant BP’s influential annual energy report said that demand for oil may never fully recover from the impact of COVID-19, and that “peak oil” may now be past. The company has already begun to transition away from fossil fuels and toward a carbon-neutral energy infrastructure.

In a statement on Monday, BP confirmed that it plans to sell its global petrochemicals business to INEOS for a total consideration of $5 billion.

In addition to meeting BP’s goal of divesting $15 billion worth of assets, the move fits new CEO Bernard Looney’s wider plan of radically overhauling BP from an oil giant into a key player in the clean energy market. Looney lauded the petrochemicals sale as “another significant step” towards reinventing BP as a company that can survive the energy transition.

Strategically, the [petrochemical business’s] overlap with the rest of BP is limited and it would take considerable capital for us to grow these businesses,” the CEO said in a statement. “As we work to build a more focused, more integrated BP, we have other opportunities that are more aligned with our future direction.

In a statement of his own, INEOS’s billionaire founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: “We are delighted to acquire these top-class businesses from BP, extending the INEOS position in global petrochemicals and providing great scope for expansion and integration with our existing business.

BP’s petrochemical interests have been struck hard by 2020’s sharp decline in oil prices, leading to a write-down of between $13 billion and $17.5 billion in its earnings for Q2.

As part of the agreed terms of the sale, INEOS will pay a deposit of $400 million and a further $3.6 billion upon competition, with the remaining $1 billion to be paid in instalments between March and May 2021.

In an economy that produces somewhere in the region of $80 trillion of gross domestic product a year, oil and gas drilling make up somewhere between 2% and 3% of the global economy.

Technologies thought unthinkable only a few years ago have revolutionised the way business go about finding their resources and the attitudes to the future of the oil business.

Here, we look at some of the trends and challenges currently circulating in the industry.

The Trends

The ‘Smart-Oilfield’

The oil industry is currently enjoying significant investment to create digitalised oilfields that offer integrated data communication across wellheads, pipelines and mechanical systems.

This collective data produces real-time analytics for data centres that can regulate oil-flows to optimise production.

Experts believe this extra intelligence has the potential to increase the net value of oil and gas assets by an eye-watering 25%.

Technology Striking Rich

Within the last decade, worry around the quantity of oil left remaining dominated the industry. Thanks to the technological advances of the last five or so years, oil companies have discovered resources so significant that these once very real concerns are now a distant memory.

4D seismic technology has created huge benefits in reservoir monitoring and is now used universally to maximise return on investment.

The development of the Subsea oilfields has reduced both infrastructure and production costs, with deeper exploration providing greater profits and risks in equal measure.

While controversial in its application, fracking of shale basins has taken US crude oil output to its highest peak since 1989, and overseas developments are in process and set to have a significant impact on the industry.

Finally, advances in oil recovery technology offer the potential to make enormous efficiency improvements. As it stands, only around one third of oil is recovered in drilling processes, meaning there are huge financial gains to be had through improving the infrastructure.

Even with some of these processes still in their infancy, the tech-revolution is offering the potential for unfathomable gains.

The Challenges

The Competition for Talent

As with any industry, the competition for top talent is fierce, but with an aging and shrinking talent pool, the oil industry’s big guns are having to invest more than ever into attracting the best people to their business.

Adding to the above trends, this means the oil industry is a good one to be in, with notable increases in base salaries alongside additional incentives and perks in recent years.

However, with specialised experience lying predominantly with the older age groups, oil companies face a key challenge in recruiting and training the next generation, not to mention matching the staffing demands of a starved sector.

The Obituary of Oil?

Despite new found and untapped resources, there are several challenges facing the oil industry that collectively pose the question: is the end of the industry nigh?

With an ever-growing market in sustainable energy, continuing price volatility and inflationary costs on wages and raw materials, oil companies face serious challenges in remaining competitively priced and diversifying their services to keep going in fluctuating market.

Even with the rise of green technologies like the electric car market, fossil fuels still have a major part to play in the next few decades of global industry. It is, however, simply a case of proving that to investors who have an eye on the future.

New research from Haven Power, one of the UK’s largest business electricity suppliers, reveals two fifths of Financial Services firms think renewable energy is just a passing trend. A perception that is significantly higher than any other industry.

Despite scepticism, almost two thirds of businesses in the sector are keen to start selling energy back to the grid. The Financial Services industry is one of the greenest compared to others surveyed, with 41% stating they already had onsite battery storage facilities installed.

The survey of Utility Decision Makers in Financial Services showed the biggest barrier preventing them from implementing sustainable change was cost (44%), followed by uncertainty on both how to measure the impact and ROI (30%) and how to discuss with investors or senior management (26%).

Paul Sheffield, Chief Operating Officer at Haven Power, commented: “Despite a proportion of firms still seemingly sceptical about the future of renewables, it’s encouraging to see that many are implementing positive changes. Understanding of renewable energy and its benefits varies greatly from sector to sector. We believe that every industry needs to start making sustainable changes to help reduce carbon emissions and embrace cleaner energy.”

When asked to list whose responsibility it is to lower carbon emissions, energy suppliers were cited top (48%), ahead of the Government (47%) and manufacturers (44%). Additionally, almost half (46%) strongly agree it is the energy providers’ responsibility to educate decision makers on the different types of energy available.

Paul Sheffield continued: “It’s imperative that organisations of all sizes across different industries work together with their energy provider to ensure the future of British business is low carbon. By moving beyond viewing energy as a commodity, we can help to drive sustainability and profitability. Here at Haven Power we are keen to help businesses understand the wider benefits of renewables.”

Haven Power is one of the UK’s largest business electricity suppliers, founded over ten years ago, it aims to help businesses control spend, manage risk and boost sustainability by using renewable electricity, energy efficiency and bespoke energy solutions.

(Source: Haven Power)

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