City switches on to £2.2m charging hub
Plug-in boost for electric vehicles
A new £2.2million state-of-theart electric vehicle charging hub is to be created in Stirling.
The innovative Green Energy Transport Hub at Castleview park-andride will use solar canopies covering 360 car parking bays to generate and store energy for the smart charging of 22 electric vehicles and e-bikes.
Scotland is to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2032 – eight years ahead of the rest of the UK.
And Scottish Government Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, announced on Wednesday that Stirling’s Green Energy Transport Hub is one of nine initiatives nationwide to receive Transport Scotland funding in preparation for the deadline.
Stirling Council’s Castleview hub will receive a £1.4million grant, with the remaining £800.000 to come from the authority’s budget. The council contribution is sourced from prudential borrowing and is associated with a business case. It is balanced by income for electric vehicle charging. The growing charging income is the main source of revenue to balance council capital costs.
The grant is part of just over £5.3million awarded to local authorities from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund.
The council’s environment and housing committee convenor Councillor Jim Thomson believes the money will help give Stirling a world class low carbon infrastructure.
He said: “I’m pleased that this grant recognises Stirling’s ambitions as a forward-thinking council. This investment puts Stirling at the forefront of the low carbon revolution and will encourage more drivers to go electric.
“We are delighted that Transport Scotland has chosen our proposal to be awarded around £1.4million through the ERDF. Electric vehicles are the future and this exciting initiative ensures Stirling is at the heart of Scotland’s green charging travel infrastructure.
“The Scottish Government has pledged to combat pollution by phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2032 and this is an important step on the journey to achieving that.”
He added: “This is one of a number of exciting projects, which will demonstrate to Stirling residents, commuters and visitors that we are committed to green energy.”
The Castleview Green Energy Transport Hub will support sustainable modes of transport including electric buses, electric taxis, electric car club cars and electric bikes.
As well as generating enough energy to power 22 charging bays, the hub aims to create a lucrative revenue stream for the council by exporting electricity back to the National Grid or potentially supplying surrounding local sites.
Mr Matheson said: “A sum of £3.67million has been provided through the ERDF with another £1.65million from the Scottish Government to help realise more active travel and low carbon travel hubs across Scotland.
“A number of these projects will support our commitment to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars by 2032.
“Our vision is that these exciting projects will help support more people to choose active travel and low carbon transport modes for their daily journeys.”