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HomeNewsGovernment invests £20m in EV charging points, providing new opportunities for local authorities.

Government invests £20m in EV charging points, providing new opportunities for local authorities.

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With the Department for Transport (DfT) announcing that they will be providing £20m to local authorities in an effort to boost the number of on-street charger points  Nick Haskins, business development manager for VolkerSmart Technologies, provides his insight on the opportunities that this could offer:

The confirmation of £20m of funding for the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme in 2021/22 is great news. Local authorities are being urged to take advantage of the investment to boost the number of on-street electric vehicle charge (EVC) points in towns and cities across the UK. Local authorities play an essential role in enabling electric vehicle infrastructure, and so, in partnership with Energy Saving Trust, the DfT is welcoming applications. The new funding will allow local authorities to install appropriate and cost-effective EVC infrastructure for those who will use on-street parking.

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The Prime Minister has put together a Ten Point Plan, setting out how the Government will accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. Of this funding, over the next four years, £1.3 billion is set to be invested in charging infrastructure. However, a new report by the think tank, Policy Exchange, stated that the UK is likely to need around 400,000 public charge points by 2030, with 6,000 of these being high-powered. To install enough public EVC points to meet this, the rollout will need to occur five times faster, at a cost of between £5 billion and £10 billion by 2030. This will require further government intervention.

The question is how best to co-ordinate the differing approaches. VolkerSmart Technologies has been listening to the market, whilst working with local authorities to deploy EVC infrastructure. This ranges from Go Ultra Low City Scheme installations within several London Boroughs, to focusing on civic buildings and car parks in Kent, and rapid and fast EVC hubs within local authority car parks.  The golden thread is having a champion within the local authority, who can work with a dedicated partner to drive these projects forward.

 VolkerSmart Technologies supports the proposal to allow funding provided by the Government (allocated by DfT) to enable dedicated “Chargepoint Teams”. These teams would be facilitating the rollout of EVC points in their area, by coordinating resources across different stakeholders. This will reduce the bottlenecks faced by charge point operators, such as changes to parking restrictions and highway alterations, and would co-ordinate linked projects such as highways, fibre and clean air monitoring, to reduce costs and impacts on residents.

VolkerSmart Technologies is looking forward speaking to local authorities who support this policy, to discuss how the delivery can be co-ordinated. It is an exciting time to be part of the industry.

If you wish to discuss how VolkerSmart Technologies can support your business then please contact Nick Haskins

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