Q&A with Duncan Booth, Managing Director, ORKA Solutions
As more businesses review EV charging, commercial solar and battery storage, infrastructure planning conversations are becoming more joined-up.
We asked ORKA Solutions Managing Director Duncan Booth about the conversations businesses are starting to have more often - and where companies can accidentally create more cost later by treating infrastructure projects separately.
Q: What conversations are businesses having more often now?
“A lot of businesses initially approach us about one specific project - usually EV charging or solar - but very quickly the wider infrastructure conversation starts appearing.
Site capacity, future expansion, operational electricity demand and long-term planning all start becoming part of the discussion.
Businesses are increasingly recognising that these projects don’t really sit in isolation anymore.”
Q: Why can treating these projects separately become a problem?
“One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is reviewing solar, battery storage and EV charging as completely separate conversations.
In reality, they increasingly affect each other through electrical demand, infrastructure planning and future operational requirements.
That doesn’t necessarily mean businesses need to install everything at once, but reviewing infrastructure together early usually creates better long-term decisions.”
Q: What issues tend to appear later if businesses don’t plan early enough?
“We often see businesses revisit infrastructure decisions later because future requirements weren’t considered early enough.
That can mean additional cabling, upgraded distribution equipment, relocated chargers or wider electrical upgrades later on.
Those reactive changes are usually more disruptive and more expensive than phased planning from the start.”
Q: Is this mainly a sustainability conversation?
“Not really.
For many businesses, this is becoming much more operational.
Electricity demand is changing, fleet requirements are evolving and businesses are trying to future-proof sites properly while managing long-term operational costs.
The conversation is becoming less about individual products and more about how infrastructure works together over time.”
Q: What should businesses be thinking about now?
“The earlier businesses start reviewing infrastructure planning, the more flexibility they usually have later.
Businesses don’t need to overcomplicate things, but they do need to think beyond simply installing one product at a time.
The companies that plan infrastructure properly early usually avoid more reactive and more expensive decisions later.”
Q: Why are businesses finding themselves having these conversations more often now?
“Electricity demand is changing for a lot of businesses.
Fleet electrification, workplace charging, operational growth and rising energy costs are all contributing to that.
Businesses are increasingly looking at how infrastructure can support future requirements rather than simply reacting when capacity becomes an issue.
That's why these conversations are becoming more common.”
Summary
As electricity demand, workplace charging and operational energy requirements continue evolving, businesses are increasingly moving from standalone product decisions towards longer-term infrastructure planning.
The companies that start those conversations earlier usually have more flexibility, avoid costly reactive upgrades and create a stronger foundation for future growth.