ChargePlace Scotland, the network of charge points funded by the Scottish Government, now has more than 1,000 publicly accessible charge points for electric vehicles across the country.
The Scottish government said that it plans to develop one of the most comprehensive EV charging networks in Europe. ChargePlace Scotland now offers an average distance of just 2.78 miles between charge points, compared to 3.77 miles in England.
New charge points are installed every week on the public network, and continues to be supported by Transport Scotland.
ChargePlace Scotland announced earlier this year that 800 public charge points are planned through the Switched-on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund and the Local Authority Installation Programme. The continued development demonstrates the Scottish Government’s determination to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032, and exceeds last year’s commitment to deliver 150 new charge points.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, made the announcement as he visited East Ayrshire Council’s first fully electric car park on Waterside Street in Kilmarnock. The council have received over half a million pounds in 2018/19 from the Scottish Government to support this project and others.
Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson, said: “World-class charging infrastructure is critical in developing range confidence and encouraging people to make the switch to electric vehicles. At the same time, the continued development of our infrastructure sends a global message that Scotland is ready for a revolution in e-mobility.
“The uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles is central to our Energy Strategy, our Climate Change Plan and our goal of making Scotland’s air quality the best in Europe. It’s fantastic that Scotland now benefits from over 1000 charge points including close to two hundred 50kW rapid chargers.
“I’m proud to make this announcement from Kilmarnock where East Ayrshire Council have recently opened their first electric car park. Every bay can support electric vehicle charging and this level of ambition supports our ambition to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032.”
ChargePlace Scotland is a national network of electric vehicle power points developed by the Scottish government through grant funding of local authorities and other organisations to install publicly available charge points.
[source: ChargePlace Scotland]
