A 10-strong fleet of 100 per cent electric Renault vehicles powered almost entirely by renewable energy can now be hired by residents and visitors to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Much of the electricity will be generated by the Pentland Road Wind Farm, the largest on any Scottish island. The nine ZOE hatchbacks and a Kangoo Van Z.E. have been introduced into the remote region through a unique partnership between E-Car Club and the wind farm operators.
The joint venture brings affordable, zero carbon transport to the area and underlines the suitability of electric vehicles in rural as well as urban environments, with the public being able to hire the innovative models on an hourly or daily basis from a number of locations across the town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.
E-Car Club – the UK’s first entirely electric pay-per-use car club – chose the Renault ZOE and Kangoo Van Z.E. for the Outer Hebrides following the success it has experienced with the models at its other nationwide locations, including its St Andrews operation which opened earlier this year. The models’ specification, fun drive, reliability and excellent customer feedback were also key factors in the decision.
Representing an investment of £24 million and developed over a 12-year period, Pentland Road Windfarm will generate power for the new vehicles as part of providing renewable electricity to the islands. Such is the efficiency of the wind farm and the suitability of the local climate to support wind power, the six turbines will supply sufficient electricity to meet the entire domestic load of the Outer Hebrides.
Those living in or visiting the Outer Hebrides will be able hire one of the Renault ZOEs from E-Car Club for only £5.50 per hour or £45 per day (24 hours). Power and insurance are both included in the price. The Kangoo panel van is available for £7.50 per hour or £60 per day.
In its drive to help combat congestion, reduce parking and enhance local mobility in an environmentally-friendly and affordable way, E-Car Club has over 20 locations across the UK with several more in the pipeline.
The ZOE is available in three trim levels that comes with a very high level of standard specification, despite its competitive price-tag, which starts from £13,445 after the Government Plug-in Car Grant.
Standard specification includes items such as climate control and sat-nav.
Renault ZOE is available with a number of features that make for seamless electric vehicle ownership including remote monitoring of the battery and pre-heating the cabin via your smartphone. ZOE also benefits from the patented Chameleon Charger that allows it to make the most of the widest range of power supplies and also keep charging times to a minimum – ZOE can charge from zero to 80 per cent full in as little as 30 minutes.
The official NEDC range is 149 miles – Renault estimates that in real-world driving conditions that this equates to around 106 miles in summer and 71 miles in winter. Retail ZOE customers also enjoy the free installation of a fast-charging 7kW wall box at home, giving a standard charge time at home from 0-100 per cent in just 3-4 hours.
The Kangoo Van Z.E is perfectly suited to many commercial applications with its choice of four bodystyles and 106-mile range (NEDC) – Renault estimates that in real-world driving conditions that this equates to around 84 miles in summer and 53 miles in winter.
