Electric vehicle charging points set for Aberdeen

Aberdeen city council has been awarded £120,000 funding to install at least six electric vehicle charging points across the city

Electric vehicle charging points are to be installed across Aberdeen after the city council was awarded £120,000 of grant funding from Transport Scotland.

The council announced today (February 6) that at least six charging points are to be installed in publicly accessible locations in the city after it was named the strategic hub of UK-wide initiative Plugged in Places.

Aberdeen city council has received £120,000 funding to install hydrogen vehicle charging points across the city

The charging units will each have a dual socket to power up two vehicles at once and are expected to be available for use in mid-Spring. They will be run on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis.

Three types of charging points will be provided: rapid chargers, which are capable of recharging a vehicle in about 20 minutes; fast chargers, which can recharge a vehicle in two to three hours; and standard chargers, which recharge a vehicle in about six hours.

Electric vehicles produce zero air pollutant emissions at point of use.

According to the council, initial investigations show that busy locations where a large number of people can access the chargers with a quick turnover, or close to strategic road networks where they can provide a quick top-ups for long-distance travellers, would be the most suitable for rapid chargers.

Car parks where people are likely to park for up to three hours are likely to be the most appropriate places to site the fast chargers, the initial investigations found, while the standard chargers are expected to be best suited to long stay car parks.

Sites for the charging points are being investigated in consultation with the local branch of the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland and Scottish and Southern Energy. A report detailing proposed locations will be presented to Aberdeen city councillors later this year.

The £120,000 funding has been allocated to cover the cost of procurement and installation of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

‘great news’

Council leader and convener of enterprise, planning and infrastructure, Barney Crockett, said: “This is great news for Aberdeen. The provision of electric vehicle charging points at key locations adds another green string to our bow and is a key element of making Aberdeen the Smarter City.”

Commenting on Aberdeen’s transport policy, he said: “We are already taking the environmental lead on transport issues. We’re making great strides with our ambitious hydrogen bus project and will soon have the largest fleet of hydrogen buses in any European City. Aberdeen’s car club, which has aspirations to buy electric vehicles for members’ use, is one of the fastest growing in the UK. “

He added: “Aberdeen city council is determined to define the image of an international 21st century energy city and to lead a leaner, cleaner industrial revolution. By installing these charging points, we are playing a very important part in making electric vehicles a more realistic option for city motorists and for those who want to travel into and through Aberdeen.”

The £30 million Plugged in Places initiative, funded by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), was set up to implement the UK’s first electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Scotland is one of eight project areas across the UK and Transport Scotland is responsible for managing the Scottish project.

A government study published on Monday (February 4) forecasted that 1.5 million hydrogen cars could be on UK roads by 2030 (see airqualitynews.com story).

It was also announced last week (January 30) that a hydrogen vehicle fuelling network is to be rolled out across London and south east England by a consortium of companies backed by the government (see airqualitynews.com story).