Locations across the North of Scotland and Dundee will benefit from a new raft of government spending to support electric vehicle infrastructure.
Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, The Highland Council, Moray Council and Dundee City Council will share in a £7 million funding scheme to support EV deployments, which is being targeted at rural and island communities.
The grants will be allocated to the councils in order to encourage greater private investment in the electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
This is in line with the Scottish Government’s ‘vision’ for a public electric vehicle charging network, which requires a need for “significant private investment” in rollout schemes.
Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for transport said: “I’m pleased that the Scottish Government is providing over £7 million in targeted support to attract in further private investment in our publicly accessible electric vehicle charging network.
“The scale of our ambition to decarbonise transport cannot be met alone and I expect that our commitment for approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030 will largely be met by the private sector.”
She added: “This can only happen, however, if the conditions exist to support this investment – which is exactly what our Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund is working to achieve and with a particular focus in our rural and island communities.”
The fund, launched last year, is designed to leverage £60m of public and private investment to double the size of Scotland’s public charging network to 6,000 charge points by 2026.
So far, 5,600 charge points have already been installed, meaning the target is on track and should be delivered ahead of schedule, with up to £55 million expected to be invested this year in Scotland by the private sector.
Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK said: “ChargeUK’s members stand ready to deliver the Scottish Government’s vision of a just transition to electric vehicles, through investment in charging infrastructure at pace and scale. The first Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund awards are an important and welcome step in delivering the vision.
“Our members will invest over £6 billion in rolling out EV infrastructure before 2030 to provide affordable and convenient charging for all in every part of the UK.”
Jim Savege, chief executive, Aberdeenshire Council and on behalf of the North of Scotland Partnership, said: “The commitment to and journey towards net zero is a significant challenge for us all, and one that requires leadership and activity at scale and pace. We are proud to come together as a ground-breaking consortium covering Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Moray and Highland Council areas with this significant investment in our EV charging infrastructure across our diverse urban and rural communities.
“We are looking for a private sector partner to work with us and co-invest alongside us, a partner who has the same ambition and commitment to net zero, and who has the scale, reach and commitment to work with communities across the North of Scotland as we change our approach to travel and connectivity across the area.”