Renewable energy to power district’s electric vehicle charging points
A firm generating electricity from wind farms off the Whitstable and Herne Bay coast will install 12 electric vehicle (EV) charging points across the district.
Swedish company Vattenfall, which operates the Kentish Flats and Kentish Flats Extension wind farms, agreed a deal with Canterbury City Council in December.
Working with leading experts BMM Energy Solutions, Vattenfall will start installation of their InCharge technology in a number of city centre car parks this month.
Cllr Simon Cook, Leader of Canterbury City Council and Chairman of its Policy and Resources Committee, said: “The installation of these first EV charging points is an important first step in the journey to provide the infrastructure that will deliver cleaner air for the district.
They were one of a raft of measures contained in the Air Quality Action Plan approved by councillors at the end of last year.
The plan signalled our determination that the council should do everything it can to improve air quality in those areas under its direct control while working with others to encourage them to do the same.
Our partnership with Vattenfall means motorists driving cleaner and greener electric cars will find life that little bit easier while being powered by renewable energy.
One electric vehicle charging point capable of charging two cars each will be installed in Pound Lane, St Radigunds and Watling Street car parks in Canterbury and have been paid for by a £19,000 grant from the government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
One charging point capable of charging two cars in reserved bays will be installed in:
- North Holmes Road between Havelock Street and Old Ruttington Lane in Canterbury
- Westgate Hall Road in Canterbury
- Beverley Road just north of Roper Road in Canterbury
- Queens Avenue near the junction with Orchard Street in Canterbury
- Central Parade near the junction with Prospect Hill in Herne Bay
- The northern end of Cromwell Road in Whitstable northern end
- Sea Street in Whitstable
- Gladstone Road in Whitstable at the bollards marking the road closure
- Nelson Road in Whitstable
These charging points are set to be paid for by a £53,214 grant from OLEV and a contribution from Vattenfall/BMM.
Anthony Hinde, Vattenfall’s Managing Director for InCharge in the UK, said: “It’s great to forge this partnership with Canterbury City Council especially as the power supplied to the sockets will be ‘sourced’ from Vattenfall’s British wind farms including those off the Kent coast.
"This is an important step in helping people live free from fossil fuels."
Terry Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer of BMM Energy Solutions, said: “Partnering with Vattenfall allows our clients and EV users to truly benefit from an EV charge point network that is easy to access, allows proactive roaming from one company to another, just like you do when using your mobile phone abroad, and is supplied from 100% UK-generated renewable electricity.”
Published: 7 January 2019