A challenge to Charlbury's environmentalists

Sun 19 Feb 2017, 23:30

evfleetworld.co.uk/central-london-streetlights-converted-to-ev-charge-points/

Sun 19 Feb 2017, 21:00

Just on a point of order, David's statement that "hydrogen fuelled vehicles have the potential to offer a far better green solution than batteries" is not strictly correct. Hydrogen is not a fuel - it is an energy carrier that does not grow on trees. It has to be created in the first place, usually by passing an electric current through water. The electricity itself has to be generated initially, just as it does in order to recharge batteries.

True, burning hydrogen as a 'fuel' does not emit carbon dioxide as part of the process, but carbon dioxide has already been emitted during power generation where this uses fossil fuels. Only using renewable or nuclear energy to provide the power to create the hydrogen removes direct carbon emissions from the cycle - but the end position is the same: power is needed either to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, or to recharge batteries.

Sun 19 Feb 2017, 19:08

Many thanks for all the ideas. It does look as if it's not going to be electric this time round. But any other suggestions gratefully considered.

Meanwhile:

"GWR had received a £315k grant to install 44 charging points, throughout their region, including at our station - I wonder what happened?"

I imagine GWR's business plan assumes all recharging customers will have paid for parking. That's not an assumption I'm prepared to make in my own business plan.

"Would it not be better to use any money that would be set aside for this purpose to repair the pot holes - greater benefit to more people ?"

Personally, I agree. I'd sort of assumed that in a free market, a technology would have evolved to meet most people's needs without yet more calls on the State or private philanthropy. All those smug techno-billionaires: they can't all ignore the majority of the population. Can they?

"Mike, maybe a letter to Robert Courts"
The offer closes in a fortnight. Has anyone yet had an answer from him that quickly?

Sun 19 Feb 2017, 18:02

Would it not be better to use any money that would be set aside for this purpose to repair the pot holes - greater benefit to more people ?

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 23:00

Hydrogen fuelled vehicles have the potential to offer a far better green solution than batteries ever will. It's a pity that this technology doesn't seem to have caught the government's eye.

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 21:06

Stephen & Trevor, representatives of GWR are coming to talk to the Town Council on Monday evening so I will ask them about this.

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 18:05

James' link is interesting: it suggests :
"Possible solutions already on the market include low-tech "cable gullies", which are laid into pavement to prevent pedestrians from tripping on cables, and high-tech "smart lampposts" capable of charging a vehicle....The councils have appealed for residents who would like to be part of the trial to come forward."
So you could try that Mike?
And it would be great to have a charging point at the new Community Centre - though no idea what that would cost..

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 16:59

perhaps assisting, or funding, such a charge point might be within the remit of the community funds which will shortly be generated by our community solar farm? It would, of course, require cooperation with another. Immunity facility or place to provide a place for them... I imagine this would easily fall within the remit of that fund though.

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 14:58

£7k per charging point sounds a bit steep. I can imagine various Charlbury electricians being more than happy to get that contract. Has the money disappeared into a GWR black hole I wonder. I think we should be told.

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 13:39 (last edited on Sat 18 Feb 2017, 13:40)

I posted an item about this issue in January 2014 bbc.in/1dSOM3D.

BBC reported that GWR had received a £315k grant to install 44 charging points, throughout their region, including at our station - I wonder what happened?

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 12:50

Mike, maybe a letter to Robert Courts about your problem is indicated!

Sat 18 Feb 2017, 12:12

The Gifford Trust could provide a couple of charging points at the Spendlove. Does anyone want to do some research on who might provide them and on what terms?

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:57

This point is often missed when the media report on electric vehicles. Until charging when out and about is as quick as filling up with petrol, the take up of these vehicles is going to be restricted to those with off road parking. The extra irony is that it is in cities that these vehicles are best utilized to reduce pollution.

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:41

Whether 100% electric Leaf, or a hybrid that can get you 30 miles before the petrol engine kicks in, Mike's point is you can't trail a cable across the road. Or guarantee parking close enough for a cable to be able to reach.

Mike, I think you're going to have to move house.

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:26

Why not get a hybrid instead? I think it would be difficult to have an electric without your own drive or guaranteed parking space with charging point.

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:19

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14226942.100_electric_car_charging_stations_to_be_installed_around_Oxford_in_world_s_biggest_scheme/

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:17

PS - Oh, the side you CAN'T park on, of course. Mmm. Scrub last suggestion. Hotwire a lamppost?

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 15:14

I really want a hybrid car too. In Oxford they are installing public car charging stations outside addresses where there's no drive access to remove the potential danger of cables trailing over the pavement. Could you apply to WODC to see if they'd trial it too as an experiment? Maybe they could do it in a more accessible place like Church St?
In the meantime, I guess you need to get one of those little plastic cable covers if you can find one the right size.
See www.leaftalk.co.uk/showthread.php/10258-Pavement-cable-cover.
Alternatively, outside old houses like yours there's often an embedded metal gutter running across the pavement from your roof guttering downpipe to the street gutter. If there is one, can you feed a cable through that?
Good luck!

Fri 17 Feb 2017, 13:40

Is there a solution to my quandary?

There's a terrific offer for the next two weeks on a Nissan car. It's electric - and now must be the time to move to the technology.

Trouble is: I live on the east side of Park St (the side you can't park on). And, like most of Britain's population, we don't have a drive.

So how do I charge it? We can't use our domestic supply and the nearest charging station's 8 miles away. I'm not going to switch my shopping to Chippy.

This isn't a plea to borrow someone else's drive: it's a straight question. Someone else must have encountered this problem somewhere in the world