Authorities in North East England are seeking suitable locations for 12 quick chargers as part of plans to install 1,300 charging points by 2013.
Regional Development Agency One North East is responsible for the 50KW stations that will able to recharge cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV to up to 80% of their capacity in 20-30min, compared to eight hours for a full charge using a 3kw charge point or four hours using a 7kw charge point.
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“Low carbon vehicles provide significant benefits including reducing CO2 emissions and improving air quality, but they do require appropriate recharging infrastructure,” said UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
“That is why these types of schemes are so important alongside our GBP5,000 (US$7,780) incentive scheme for ultra-low carbon cars which was given the go ahead yesterday.”
One North East is already in talks with a number of potential partners about hosting quick charge points.
Roadside services are among the most likely locations, but any business or organisation located on or near the major trunk roads and spine roads in the North East is being invited to put itself forward.
Due to the prohibitively high up-front costs for these charge points, the Agency will finance their installation, but partners will be expected to provide a parking space and fund the ongoing maintenance and electricity costs.
This infrastructure work is part of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) ‘Plugged-In Places’ initiative, which is helping to establish electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in key strategic locations around the UK.
The North East fund of GBP7.8m has been funded with GBP£2.9m from OLEV, GBP£3.8m from One North East and slightly more than GB£1m from regional partners.
The 1,300 charge points will also include residential charging points, along with the mixture of standard and ‘intelligent’ 7KW and 3KW charge points being installed at businesses and in public car parks.
One North East manufacturing and productivity manager Colin Herron, said: “We are now offering the opportunity to be one of the first locations in Europe for quick chargers which represent a real opportunity for businesses.
“As electric vehicles become more popular, these 12 sites will have the potential to attract significant numbers of drivers, who will be captive audience for a 20-minute period while they are charging up.”
Newcastle City Council will have more than 250 regional charge points.
The fund which offers North East companies and organisations match-funding for charging points remains open – effectively enabling them to buy and install charging points for half the standard cost – around GBP2,500 instead of around GBP5,000, plus connection costs.
Dr Herron added: “The Plugged-In Places project is progressing well but we are always looking for new partners and new ideas for charging point locations and we welcome any enquiries from businesses and organisations interested in joining the UK’s electric vehicle revolution,” said Herron.
