Thursday, October 10, 2024
EnergyLatestNews

New chargers supplied to South Lanks

A new public electric vehicle charging hub has opened in South Lanarkshire through a multi-million-pound partnership between SP Energy Networks and the Scottish Government.

The deal has seen installation in Carluke as part of Project PACE, which aims to create over 40 charging hubs across North and South Lanarkshire by April 2021.

The charging locations will be hosted by North and South Lanarkshire Council in the car parks they own with every community hub chosen to help fill gaps in the current public provision for EV users.

The energy network has used its knowledge of the local grid to work with stakeholders to choose optimal charging locations. By using charging locations that make innovative use of the existing electricity network, Project PACE has achieved potential savings of between £30,000 and £60,000 on electricity grid connection costs per new location. This equates to a total of between £1.3 million to £2.6 million across all planned sites.

Project PACE supports the Scottish Government’s ambition to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. The Scottish Government’s investment of £5.3m in the project will help deliver up to 180 new public EV charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network, aiming to triple EV charging capacity across Lanarkshire by April 2021.

Scott Mathieson, Director of Network Planning and Regulation at SP Energy Networks, said: “Widespread rollout of publicly available EV charging sites is essential to meeting both the Scottish and UK government’s Net Zero targets so I’m proud that we’re leading the way through Project PACE.

“This new site on Carnwath Road has been strategically chosen so it’s of maximum value to drivers in a busy and easily accessible location. We’re committed to helping to tackle the climate emergency and this project is a great example of how working collaboratively can help both the environment and our customers across Lanarkshire.

“Project PACE serves as a blueprint for other areas across the country to show how we can ensure every community has access to charging points through Scotland’s electricity networks and in turn support the green economic recovery.”

Councillor John Ross, Leader of South Lanarkshire Council said: “We are delighted to see this new charging point in Carluke coming online as the roll out of an ever-improving EV charging network in South Lanarkshire continues.

“It is a great example of partnership working and allows us to build on our ongoing investment in infrastructure, helping the country meet climate change targets.

“Project PACE is making a real contribution to improving sustainable, low carbon travel opportunities across Lanarkshire, and of course is part of the wider EV Strategic Network that will benefit the whole of Scotland.

“To encourage people to use electric vehicles the infrastructure has to be there and every additional site that opens helps make cleaner, greener travel a practical option for more of the population.”

Sign up for our essential
newsletter service.

Enter your details here.