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Rewiring Britain – Ofgem investment to triple EV charge points
New infrastructure to support 1,800 new ultra-rapid charging points at motorway service areas and on key trunk road locations will be delivered as part of Ofgem’s £300 million investment for over 200 low carbon transport and energy projects.
This will triple the current capacity on the Strategic Road Network.
A further 1,750 charge points will be supported in towns and cities. This is part of a massive upgrade to cables, substations and other infrastructure required to support the switch from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles on Britain’s roads.
The investment is part of a bigger plan to ensure Britain has the energy infrastructure it needs to support the move to low carbon transport and heating over the next two years. Ofgem expects that this investment to be on the scale of more than £40 billion through its regulation of energy networks, and claims that every region in Britain will benefit.
“This £300 million down payment is just the start of building back a greener energy network which will see over £40 billion of investment in Britain’s energy networks in the next seven years,” said Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of Ofgem. “The payment will support the rapid take up of electric vehicles which will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets. Drivers need to be confident that they can charge their car quickly when they need to. We’re paving the way for the installation of 1,800 ultra-rapid charge points, tripling the number of these public charge points. Drivers will have more charging options for longer journeys.”
Denise Beedell, Policy Manager – Vans and Urban, Logistics UK, said: “Having a comprehensive charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is an essential prerequisite if the UK is to reach its goal of achieving net zero emissions in 2050. This significant investment from Ofgem in the charging network of our Strategic Road Network is very welcome. However, it is important that the investment is not solely focused on electrifying cars and Logistics UK calls on Ofgem to ensure that Britain's energy networks and charging infrastructure is also developed to be accessible to commercial van drivers as they work to provide essential goods and services across the UK.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/campaigns/environment
Published On: 03/06/2021 17:00:04
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