More than 1,000 new electric vehicle chargepoints should be installed nationally in a new pilot, as part of a wider £450 million scheme
North Yorkshire to benefit from £2.2m of funding to build residential chargepoints from both Government and industry.
Through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme, North Yorkshire Council and industry will work together to create new, commercial EV charging infrastructure for residents, from on-street chargepoints to larger petrol station-style charging hubs.
The pilot is backed by £10 million of government funding and will see North Yorkshire Council awarded £2m in the first tranche of the planned £450 million scheme, supported by £200,000 of funding from industry.
The rollout supports the Government’s drive to encourage more motorists to go electric, which can save drivers money on fuel and running costs, and improve air quality as the country moves towards net-zero.
Transport produced 27% of the UK’s total emissions in 2019. Of this, the majority (91%) came from road transport vehicles.
The scheme will help residents without private driveways to have better access to EV chargers, as well as growing the charging network across the country, supporting the nation’s uptake of zero emission vehicles and enabling more people to drive and charge without fear of being caught short, no matter where they are.
Julian Smith MP, said:
It is great that North Yorkshire County Council have been chosen to receive funding that will deliver 70 public electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints and related infrastructure. This charging network is key to making the transition to electric vehicles.
The county council’s executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said:
The switch to electric vehicles is necessary as North Yorkshire moves towards becoming carbon zero, but the rural nature of the county presents some significant challenges.
We worked hard to come up with an innovate scheme which will begin to provide the answers motorists need if they are to have the confidence to go electric.
The Government clearly saw the merit in our plans and we are delighted that we will now be able to press ahead with this work. It is an important step in our plans to ensure the county has an EV charging network which can meet everyone’s needs.
Why not produce standardised batteries for vehicles. We have AA & AAA batteries in our TV remotes, why not a scaled up version for vehicles. When running low on energy you pull into a former petrol station, machines then take out the used batteries from below & replace with fully charged ones & you drive away 5 minutes later. The former petrol stations then recharge the batteries overnight on cheap rate electricity. This would save the problem of putting charge points everywhere notwithstanding the fact that if everybody changed to an electric vehicle tomorrow, the national grid couldn’t cope. This system has already been demonstrated on the Fifth Gear TV programme by a Chinese motor manufacturer in Oslo, Norway. I know motor manufacturers won’t agree because they want a monopoly on their batteries for their cars, but tough, I currently have IKEA batteries in an LG TV remote !. What the motor manufacturers do with the electric power & how many batteries they have in their cars should differentiate between the manufacturers, not the battery.