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The UK is heading for an electric shock. Efforts to decarbonise the UK economy by 2040, the rise of electricity-consuming robotics and automation, and the growth of electric vehicles, are combining to put enormous pressure on a power infrastructure that is already stretched.
Some sectors of the property industry are feeling the heat, among them some of the best performing parts of the market, and niche sectors that could see their growth curtailed by a problem many in the industry don't even think about. The logistics and warehouse property world is among those most badly burned, and data centres face huge problems.
Amidst warnings that increased demand due to electrical vehicle charging could cause blackouts — just five Tesla vehicles charging simultaneously can consume the same amount of electricity as an office building — the UK property industry is fighting for its share of scarce electric power resources.
Is it winning the fight, or will establishing power connections at a price that means development is viable be the make-or-break issue for development in the 2020s?
Unviable Site Costs
Will Cooper is director in the building and project consultancy team at Savills. His job is to find the power for new logistics developments, and it is no easy task.“The costs run into millions, and the delays into years of…
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