Occasionally, we step out from behind the install… and this is one of those times.READ MORE
Joju Charging has won the contract under the TfL GULCS framework (Go Ultra Low City Scheme) with the Royal Borough of Kingston, to provide 100 street light charge points for local Kingston residents. The charge points will be installed on existing lamp posts during February and March and will help people make the switch to EV, as residents without access to off street parking will soon be able to park on the street near their homes, plug their electric vehicle into a charge point on a street light and charge away!
It was a night to celebrate for Joju as our work was recognised with two prizes at the prestigious EVIEs Awards.
The EVIEs are the leading UK industry awards for those involved in the electric vehicle industry, and their remit is to “shine a light on innovation and excellence in the emerging EV sector”. The awards reflect on the achievements of those companies and institutions engaged in delivering the electric vehicle transition.
The panel awarded Joju Charging the prize for “Contractor of the Year” in recognition of our work designing and installing EV charge point schemes for the Public Sector, homes and workplaces. Joju’s Commercial Director, Joe Michaels said “We’re delighted to have received this award … it is a testament to the hard work put in by the team, and the partnerships we have developed with councils and charge point manufacturers. We decided to start offering EV charge just over three years ago, and we are now delivering many hundreds of quality charge point installations each year.”
The prize for “Public Sector Infrastructure Strategy of the Year” was awarded for the Central Southern Regional Framework – run by Hampshire County Council in partnership with Joju Charging as the installation partner. Hampshire established the framework to deliver a coherent charging solution for public sector bodies across the south of England. We are now engaged with 64 public sector bodies in the Framework region and have completed 400 charge points under major programmes for:
The Framework also features an innovative fully-funded option, developed by Joju, which enables councils to install charge points at zero cost.
All in all, it’s been a great team effort and, naturally, we’re all enjoying being recognised by the EVIE Awards. But Joe is keen to stress we’re not finished there. “To be recognised as industry-leading installers in such a short time is a great achievement. But the EV transition is just at the very early stages, and there is a huge amount still be done to electrify transport over the next decade. That’s our mission”.
Sales of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) in the UK rose by 27% in 2017, year on year, and the latest figures, released in April 2018, show that around 146,000 plug-in vehicles are currently driving around on our roads.READ MORE
We’re currently building a 2MW community energy scheme with a Welsh community energy group called Awel Amen Tawe. Their Egni Coop is working with Newport Council to install solar on their schools and other public buildings such as the velodrome. Dan McCallum from Egni Coop, has written this rather excellent blog piece, looking at the finer details of the project panning and installation process.
As the electric vehicle market begins to take off, more chargepoints are needed in public locations so that drivers can charge when away from the home. Local councils are therefore providing EV chargepoints in public locations such as car parks, on-street parking bays and Park and Ride schemes.
We’re pleased to announce that following a competitive tender process Joju has been awarded places to two more public sector frameworks.READ MORE
Last week Joju exhibited at Homes 2o16 at the London Olympia. The UK’s largest exhibition for housing professionals. Delegates, exhibitors and guests at Homes 2016 were all there to discuss how councils, housing associations and constructors would meet the Government’s pledge, from earlier this year, to build one million new homes by 2020 at a cost of £5 billion. Now a week on and following yesterday’s Autumn budget the industry are responding to the decision by the Government to invest a further £1.4bn to deliver 40,000 affordable homes across Britain and at the same time relax restrictions on government grants to widen the types of homes being built.
The announcement of a £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund to overcome local objections and unlock 100,000 new homes in areas of high demand in particular seems an overall positive decision. However, new communities must be supported by improvements to local infrastructure. Energy infrastructure will be crucial for these new homes especially when one considers the potential of solar power and home battery storage to improve the lives of those in social housing and first time buyers. New communties don’t need to rely on the old and tired methods that limit existing developments. Housebuilders should be considering the issues, like energy consumption, that may face households of the future. At Joju we firmly believe solar PV and home battery storage can play a crucial role in creating fairer homes of the future.
In particular the new Housing Infrastructure Fund will give housebuilders a helping hand to accelerate the delivery of new homes in high demand localities such as London, Cambridge and Oxford. All areas in which Joju has worked before and where we can see ourselves playing a crucial role.
While the decision to address the UK’s housing supply crisis is welcome and the headline numbers seem eye-catching it does require a stretch of the imagination to believe that a new homes supply can be unlocked for £23,000 each or an affordable house can be built for £35,000. Future housing has to be built in a way that is fairer for all and looking for energy savings through solar PV and LED energy efficient lighting could be two ways of doing this.
It is, however, clear to all that this was a budget produced by a Chancellor who ultimately has one hand tied behind his back by the Brexit result and the uncertainity it brings while at the same time he must placate a Prime Minister trying to keep her party in line. There is still so much economic uncertainty that it is difficult to be over excited by announcements of increased infrastructure spending and more housebuilding.
Whatever your own opinions of the new Chancellor’s budget the ideas announced yesterday demonstrate that this new government does recognise that housing is a key part of our infrastructure and that it brings economic benefits. We only hope at that they are a government who can also see the tangible benefits of investing in sustainable, fairer and more environmentally friendly technologies like solar PV and LED efficient lighting at the planning and construction stage.
Come see Joju at stand H125B at Homes 2016 at Olympia, November 16th-17th
We recap on our fantastic three nominations for awards at this year’s Solar Power Portal Awards in Birmingham.