Bringing power to the people
Will also create a shared infrastructure for the residents of Cumbria.
Cumbria County Council is set to introduce electric vehicles to its car pool, with support from the Energy Saving Trust. The news have been the catalyst for the roll out of a larger project that will see 36 electric charging stations installed across the rural county. The news will hopefully prove more of an incentive for the uptake of EV’s in the county and make the switch a viable option for Cumbria’s residents and businesses.
As part of their ‘Plugged-in Fleet Initiative’, the Energy Saving Trust completed a review assessing the potential for Cumbria County Council to use a fleet of electric vehicles. The council introduced 15 electric cars to its fleet but with only four charging points across the whole county, the lack of a structured approach to charging within the county would lead to everyone else being locked out of the benefits.
With this in mind, the council and the trust applied for an infrastructure grant from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to give the infrastructure needed. With £1 million of funding secured, the charging points will be installed in the coming weeks with the council’s fleet of vehicles taking to the road early next year.
“It’s great news for the Council,’ said Suzanne Pender, the Council’s travel improvement manager. “We estimate that this first step will reduce pool car CO2 emissions by around 24 tonnes and reduce our cost per mile – currently 35 pence for pool cars and 45 or 50 pence for employees using their own vehicles – to only 20 pence.”
Cumbria County Council and the Energy Saving Trust applied for an infrastructure grant from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to give the Council and the county the infrastructure it needed. The Council will provide electric vehicle charging to the public on a not-for-profit basis, charging only what is required to cover costs and maintain the infrastructure.
