Scottish region to get 5 x more charging points

North and South Lanarkshire Councils are collaborating with Transport Scotland and Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) to install 220 EV chargers at 37 sites across the Scottish county just below Glasgow.

The undertaking will provide five times more charging opportunities than is currently available and should have these installed by the end of this year. The public charging hubs will be built in carparks owned and operated by both the North and South Lanarkshire Councils. The project is supposed to draw up to £5m investment in EV charging and network infrastructure to add 162 rapid and 58 fast chargers.

Preparatory work with Transport Scotland and SP Energy Networks are already underway. The expansion of charging infrastructure is undertaken as part of Project PACE. The initiative must first find the optimum charging point locations as well as the electricity network infrastructure required.

Councillor Michael McPake, Convener of the Environment and Transportation Committee, said: “The Scottish Government targets aim to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032, and these plans are designed to pave the way for that to become a reality. The new network will contribute to reducing air pollution and providing access to clean energy for our residents, and the project fits with this council’s ambition to be the place to live, learn, work, invest and visit.”

The charging points will be installed across 22 large, high-voltage hubs and 15 medium facilities with low-voltage connections. The initial phase is being described as a “scalable trial”.

The location search will focus on issues such as public charging network availability, prioritising on-street charging in urban residential areas, shared off-street charging such as in apartment block car parks, and at strategic locations on trunk roads.

dailyrecord.co.uk, spenergynetworks.co.uk, northlanarkshire.gov.uk