The inevitability of the eventual switch to electricity to power cars, not petrol/diesel, seems to have been accepted, even by the most hardened of Petrol-heads.
Boris Johnson’s government plans to ban selling new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars in the UK by 2040 at the latest with rumours they’ll bring it forward to 2035 or even 2030.
Perfect for the Island
The great thing is that the Isle of Wight is an ideal place for electric vehicles (EVs) – there’s only so far you can drive here! :)
There are a growing number of EVs becoming available to buy, but on the Island, the ability to charge them is currently limited.
Those fortunate enough to have off-street parking should be OK, as they can plug-in and charge from their house supply.
Sadly, the majority of people living in towns and villages don’t have this luxury, so what are the options for them?
Questions to the IWC
News OnTheWight put a series of questions to the council on this. The responses (below) were a welcome forward from April 2019, when we last asked the council of their EV charging point plans when they were, “looking at options to expand the number of on-street and off-street charge points.”
1 – Please give details of IWC plans to expand the number of EV charging points on the Island.
We intend to install ten on-street residential charge points (20 connectors) during the current 2020/21 financial year.
2 – What are the projected numbers in 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years time.
There are currently no approved plans for the further roll out of charging points by the council at present. The council will continue to explore funding opportunities and to support private initiatives going forward.
3 – Please detail the number of each output capacity? Ie 10 x 350kW
The on-street charge points will have a 22kW capacity.
4 – How much funding has IWC received under the Government’s On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme?
A grant offer of £67,500 has been received.
5 – Where does IWC plan locate them?
Cowes x2; Newport x3; Ryde x1; Sandown x1; Seaview x1; Ventnor x2.
6 – What action has IWC taken to implementing EV charging at street lampposts?
We have investigated various options but have no plans at present to install lamppost charging points.
Image: noyafieldsorg under CC BY 2.0
