This time next year Formula E, the world's first single-seater electric racing championship, will be a reality rather than just existing on paper. Formula E launched its new car at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this month and on Friday its inaugural calendar will be confirmed. It was expected that the first race would be through the streets of London but an article in today's Independent, written by Pitpass' business editor Christian Sylt, reveals that the UK capital will have to wait another year.

News about Formula E has been revving up over the past few months. An impressive roster of partners has been announced as McLaren will make the cars' 300bhp electric motors, Michelin will supply the tyres, watch company TAG Heuer will handle timing and Renault is the technical partner. As Sylt has revealed, Williams will provide the batteries and one of the teams will come from IndyCar.

The idea of Formula E hosting a street race in London was first mooted in December last year by Kevin Eason, motor racing correspondent for The Times. He wrote that the organisers "have approached Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, to make the capital the venue for the first 'green' grand prix."

The location was confirmed when the list of host cities was announced in March and Johnson said that he is "hugely keen that London be involved in the birth of Formula E." He added that "it has the potential to highlight the impressive strides being made in the manufacture of electric vehicles and hosting a street race could also be of considerable benefit to our city."

Formula E is ready and able to hold its first race in London but the series' chief executive Alejandro Agag says that progress "is very slow because there are so many layers. It is not the mayor who controls this, it is the borough. For logistical reasons it is better to start in a continent and stay in the same continent anyway, so we are putting together all of the races in Europe. London now looks like it is going to be the closing race in 2015."

Agag adds that when it comes to the area of London which will host the race, he "is looking at Wembley as well as Westminster and the Olympic Park in Stratford." The curtain-raiser will now take place in Beijing and will be followed by nine other races in exotic destinations such as Los Angeles, Miami, Rome and Rio de Janeiro.

The delay to the London Formula E race is a reminder of how tough it is to get a street race off the ground. Formula E does not have the emissions concerns associated with Formula One and it does not charge a hosting fee for its races. If the race in London has had to be delayed due to planning hurdles with more than a year to go then we sincerely hope that the organisers of F1's Grand Prix of America in New Jersey have got all their permits and permissions in place because their race is due to take place a lot sooner than that.