Energy sector regulator, Ofgem, has announced support for new electric vehicle charging points as part of a £300 million investment in low-carbon infrastructure and transport.
The investment will deliver cabling necessary for 1,800 ultra-rapid charge points at motorway services and other other key trunk roads. A further 1,750 charge points will also be supported in towns and cities across the country. Other infrastructure, including cabling and substations will also see improvement to handle the demand on the power grid as drivers and car manufacturers switch from traditional fuels to hybrid and fully electric vehicles.
While electric car ownership is on the rise (500,000 electric vehicles are currently on the roads), Ofgem research has found that 36% of households that do not intend to get an electric vehicle are put off making the switch over a lack of charging points near their home. An extensive motorway charging network and more charging points in cities and train stations will help address this ‘range anxiety’, so Ofgem is accelerating investment to boost charge point installation.
The investment will also support the council’s Stockport CAN climate strategy, which aims to improve infrastructure for electric vehicles in the borough. The strategy intends to deliver 30 new council-maintained public charge points in the borough by 2025.
In total, Ofgem are committing £300.5 million to net-zero projects across the UK. Investment will also support local power grids to take on more low carbon generation: in the North-west, Stockport-based Electricity North West, the company responsible for electricity distribution in the region, has already committed to £2 billion of proposed investment to the network to be delivered by 2028.
Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem said:
“This £300 million down payment is just the start of building back a greener energy network which will see well over £40 billion of investment in Britain’s energy networks in the next seven years.
“The payment will support the rapid take up of electric vehicles which will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets. Drivers need to be confident that they can charge their car quickly when they need to. We’re paving the way for the installation of 1,800 ultra-rapid charge points, tripling the number of these public charge points. Drivers will have more charging options for longer journeys.
“In the year that Glasgow hosts the COP26 climate summit, the energy networks are rising to the challenge and working with us and partners to accelerate projects that can start now, benefiting consumers, boosting the economy and creating jobs.”