There is no denying that the world’s climate is changing and action is needed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is why, in 2019, the UK government became the first major economy in the world to pass laws that commit the country to a legally binding target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Following recent research that showed the UK wouldn’t be able to achieve its target, in 2020 the government made the decision to ban the sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2035 – five years earlier than they had originally planned.
Independent organisations such as the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) urged Ministers to change their deadlines to ensure the country reduces its large contribution to global warming sooner rather than later.
Substituting diesel and petrol cars for electric vehicles will massively improve air quality, according to the World Health Organisation. However, with this change comes the need for electric charging points.
The government recently announced an extra £10 million in EV charging funding, double the current funding amount, which will allow local authorities to install up to 7,200 devices. It is estimated by the International Council on Clean Transportation that the country will need between 341,000 to 430,000 public and workplace vehicle charging points by then – thousands more than the current network of only 16,500 public charging locations.
When the government published tables showing which regions would have the most charging points for drivers, many Local Transport Authorities, especially in the North of England, called for more funding. Here, Cumbria County Council and the North East Combined Authority highlight their current Electric Vehicle charging projects and share their thoughts on requirements for the future.
As the wider society transitions towards a greater use of electric vehicles, Cumbria County Council also recognises the importance of investing in additional charging infrastructure. The region currently has 213 public charging locations; a figure which will have to increase significantly in order to cater for the anticipated growth in EV usage.
By 2022 Pod Point, one of the UK’s leading providers of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs), estimate that a total of 581 public EVCPs will be required within Cumbria. This is now identified in the Cumbria Local Industrial Strategy.
As part of its electric charging investment initiatives, Cumbria County Council introduced its electric pool car system in 2014 – a pool car scheme for staff travel including 20 vehicles at 10 locations across the county. This initiative has proved to be successful as 845 members of council staff joined the scheme, helping to reduce fuel and CO2 emissions. An extra 15 vehicles, including five electric cars have since been added to the council’s pool car fleet.
Later in 2016, the council secured an investment of £438,000 from the Government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), which allowed them to create a countywide electric vehicle infrastructure.
The County Council is currently taking forward several extra projects, one of them to install 30 additional EV charging points across five strategically located council-owned sites, with the potential of creating a further 162 charging points in the future. In addition to this, two Cumbrian districts, Carlisle and South Lakeland are involved in a fast charging project named ‘Scaling On Street Charging Infrastructure Project’ (SOSCI), and are looking forward to installing 200 22kW fast chargers over 18 months across the north of England.
In the Lake District, borough, city and district councils, the local authority is either bidding for funding, installing EV charging, or taking part in initiatives that support Cumbria’s bid to reduce pollution.
The team at Cumbria County Council explained that funding is critical to enable the development of a comprehensive network of electric vehicles and infrastructure to meet the needs of residents, businesses and visitors. They are hoping to receive additional funding to install more EV charging points available to the public, as well as expanding the council’s fleet of electric vehicles.
The targets which the UK government has set for the ending of new petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles are fully supported by the North East region. Collectively, they are working hard to ensure that the charging network will meet future demand.
The world’s first mass-market electric vehicle (the Nissan Leaf) is manufactured in Sunderland, giving the North East Joint Transport Committee extra awareness when recognising the importance of giving drivers the confidence to purchase an EV over a petrol or diesel car.
The region’s commitment to EV charging has been longstanding; since 2012, the region installed the UK’s very first connected network of charge points. Delivered through OLEV funds, the ‘Plugged in Places Project’ installed over 1000 charging points.
Currently there are a couple of exciting projects underway. The first is an ERDF funded ‘Go Ultra Low North East’ project which will be complete by the end of 2020. This consists of an EV filling station (based in Sunderland) and 11 EV charging hubs which will be installed across the region ensuring that there is the right infrastructure where drivers need it to be.
The filling station is one of the first in the country and was, at the time, the first UK location to have a 350kwh EV charger.
The second project is the installation of new EV chargers, specifically for the taxi trade, which the region is hoping will encourage their transition to EV cars.
The North East Joint Transport Committee has recently been awarded new funding through the Local Growth Fund to undertake a feasibility study which will identify the next phase of strategic locations where EV chargers should be installed across the region. Drivers can expect these charge points to be fully operational by summer 2021.
Councillor Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council and Chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “EV funding is absolutely imperative for the North East and it is vital that it continues.
“Geographically, we are unique in the fact that we have both condensed urban cores but also extremely rural areas, therefore when the region plans for the installation of EV chargers, we need to be mindful of this.”
Most public network users will not have access to off street parking so it is crucial that there is a charging solution in the region.
The North East has declared a Climate Emergency and is working hard on measures to improve air quality. The transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs will play a key role in the lowering of carbon emissions.
While the country’s 2050 net zero target is one of the most ambitious in the world, encouraging drivers to go green requires funding and investment in infrastructure – when these measures are in place, the North East will be fully ready to make transport cleaner, easier and safer.
You can find a map showing the number of public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, here.