POWER TO THE PEOPLE
While government and car makers are keen to push an all-electric future, concerns around range and charging availability continue to worry many drivers.
Manufacturers are working to improve ranges, but the push to offer a network of charging points that covers the whole country is also well underway.
Driving the tesla, we were had free access to the brand’ s exclusive Superchargers and around 40 destination charging points but for most EV owners public charge stations are the away-from home option.
In Scotland, the vast majority of public charging points are operated by Charge place scotland. most of these are free to use once you sign up to the Charge place scheme, although some units and those owned by other operators have a pay-per-use system.
From around 480 charge points in mid-2014, the Charge place Scotland network has grown to more than 1,100 points totalling more than 2,000 sockets in 2017.
It’s not just in the major urban hubs wherecharging is available, either. while Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen lead the way, there are points as far north as Baltasound on Shetland, and as far west as Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. It’s even possible to complete the NC500 in an EV using public charging points.
Stephen Dunn is COO of zero-emissionschauffeuring firm eve cos se and uses Tesla models. he is optimistic about the approach to EVS in Scotland.
“Overall, the public charging infrastructure in Scotland is good,” he says. “With new sites being commissioned all the time, the roll-out is encouraging. Businesses are also doing their bit. Some places of work now have a charging point and some in the leisure industry are installing charging points for customers.
“It’s a proactive approach like this which will hopefully encourage those concerned about range or charger availability, to move away from fossil fuels.”
There are still hurdles to overcome, however.
Charging speeds remain an issue in some areas,particularly more remote locations where some points only offer 7kw charging. For the latest Nissan Leaf, for example, that means a full charge takes 7.5 hours compared to just an hour on a 50kw “rapid” charger.
There are also issues around chargers being in use or out of service. However, online tools such Charge place Scotland’s map feature live information on a point’s status, allowing drivers to plan ahead or find alternatives.
Steve goo ding, director of the RAC Foundation, comments: “Scotland may be on the cusp of a motoring revolution, but step-changes in EV technology must be matched by equally big strides in infrastructure.
“It is pleasing to see the use rapid chargers are getting. But the high number of charge points that get little or no use shows that we still need to think not just about the total amount of charging infrastructure but what type it is and where it is located.
“Few of the owners of Scotland’s 2.8 million cars and vans think twice about the process of refuelling with petrol or diesel. Only when we get close to the same ease of use for electric cars will we truly enable am ass market for them.”