Singapore Takes Giant Step Forward

Energy
Friday, June 24th, 2022 7:21 am EDT

In a forward thinking move, the Singapore government is proposing that all new buildings with carparks (parking lots) will have to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points in at least 1% of their total car and motorcycle parking lots and sufficient electrical load to support EV charging for 15% of the total parking spaces. The Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority (LTA) set out on Wednesday, June 15, for public consultation. 

Singapore has a target to phase out all internal combustion engine (ICE) cars by 2040, with battery electric vehicles to form the bulk of the vehicle population. New electric car registrations made up 8.4% of all new car registrations in the first five months of 2022, growing at a rate more than twice that of last year and over 20 times than in 2020. The overall vehicle fleet is still 97% fossil-fueled vehicles.

“We see a strong impetus to introduce legislation to regulate EV charging across the key stakeholders in the EV charging industry, while the industry and EV adoption in Singapore are still nascent,” said the authorities.

To make it easier for EV charging to be installed in existing strata-titled developments like condominiums, the government is also looking at amending laws to lower the threshold for such resolutions to be passed. Residents in some condos have not managed to pass resolutions to install EV charging points, even when a majority of residents support the move.

EVOne Charging’s managing director, Mr Elson Toh, believes condo dwellers are keener than those in any other housing types to switch to EVs. His company has been receiving more requests for proposals by condominium residents in the past year, but they rarely get the needed votes (90%) at resident committee meetings. He sees the potential for EV adoption to really take off with the proposed change.

QuickCharge.sg has installed over 100 EV chargers in commercial sites and landed homes since the middle of last year. Its spokesman said the company welcomed the proposed requirement to register EV chargers as it will give consumers confidence that the chargers comply with safety standards.

Australia is about enter the steep slope of the adoption curve and would be well advised to follow Singapore’s good example and encourage EV chargers for medium and high density housing.

 

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