The Isle of Wight is one step closer to a slice of a national fund for electric vehicle public chargepoints.
Earlier this month applications officially opened for the first round of funding for the government’s £343 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Capital Fund.
The aim of the LEVI fund is to deliver on-street charging infrastructure primarily benefiting those without access to off-street parking at home.
Local authorities will receive LEVI funding in two groups, with the first — which includes the Isle of Wight Council — able to apply for their allocated funding from now, to be distributed this financial year.
Should the LEVI capital funding be secured, the council plans to install an additional 150-200 sockets on top of those already in place to meet the growing demand.
Jordan: Funding will help us deliver vision newly adopted EV Chargepoint Infrastructure Strategy
Councillor Phil Jordan, Cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said,
“Many residents and businesses have already embraced electric vehicles, and we know that many more will be keen to do so over the coming years.
“Following the submission of our expression of interest for LEVI funding, we have now been invited to submit a application to access the funding as part of the first tranche.
“We will be working closely with key stakeholders to prepare the full application for submission at the end of November.
“This funding will help us deliver the vision and aims of our newly adopted EV Chargepoint Infrastructure Strategy supporting our residents with the move to electric vehicles.
“It will also help to enable the journey to decarbonise our transport infrastructure to meet net zero emissions by 2040 for both our communities and the increasing number of visitors with electric vehicles.
“Moving to electric vehicles, as well as reducing overall traffic levels, is vital to tackling air pollution.
“We are dedicated to making EV charging points accessible to all and to reduce the barrier for our residents in making the switch to electric vehicles.”
The council has installed 66 sockets (each chargepoint has two sockets) across the Island — all but one are powered by green energy.
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Of course, those installed on council land are only part of the overall network. Full details of all chargepoints can be found on the government’s Website.
The active council chargers are proving popular with Island residents with 6,609 charging sessions, more than 130,919 kilowatt hours of electricity drawn and 11,618kg of CO2 saved.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
Image: The unveiling of the Electric Vehicle chargepoint in Quay Street, Newport, in December 2022. L-R: Mark Downer (IWC Parking Services), Ella Clapham (IWC Regeneration), Emma Blades (Joju), Councillor Phil Jordan, Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Dominique Dorsett-Vidal (Joju)
