Better site selection for public EV chargers could save £310m

SP Energy Networks has claimed that better site selection could lower the costs of installing public electric vehicle (EV) chargers across the UK by £310 million.

The figure was extrapolated from the initial findings from a trial being conducted in partnership with the Scottish government, which will see 140 chargers installed at 40 locations across Lanarkshire by April next year. The first of these charging hubs was installed at Strathclyde Country Park in August and has already been used more than 1,700 times.

For the first phase of Project Pace, SP Energy Networks (SPEN) spent £500,000 developing a new selection process for EV charging locations.

By choosing sites that can make effective use of the existing electricity network in the area, the company said it expects to lower the connection costs for the planned hubs by between £30,000 and £60,000 on average and between £1.3 million and £2.6 million in total. It said the new approach to site selection could save £26 million if rolled out across Scotland and £310 million if applied to the whole of the UK.

SPEN director of network planning and regulation, Scott Mathieson, said: “The creation of more publicly available electric vehicle charging locations is vital to meeting both Scottish and UK government net zero targets so we’re proud to be leading the way through Project Pace

“SPEN invested £500,000 in the optioneering phase to ensure we chose optimum locations for the project, which will be of most use for drivers and help deliver substantial savings for the communities we serve.

“Project Pace is a blueprint for a more successful collaborative roll out of public EV chargers. The learnings from this trial could be applied across other areas of the country to ensure every local community has access to EV charging points which will help boost a green economic recovery. No community should be left behind in the transition to net zero.”

The new charging hubs will all be installed in car parks owned by the councils in North and South Lanarkshire and incorporated into the publicly-owned ChargePlace Scotland network. The Scottish government has invested £5.3 million in Project Pace in an effort to fill gaps in charging provision in the area.

Michael Matheson, cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity, said: “This effective partnership working, using specialist knowledge, is radically improving the speed, effectiveness and efficiency of the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This is key to responding to the climate emergency and transitioning to a net-zero economy, as we seek to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032.”