Over £20 million will fund the installation of 800 new charge points across Scotland in a bid to increase the country’s EV uptake.

The Scottish government has announced £20.6 million of funding for the new charging infrastructure, delivered through the Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund (STCCF) and the Local Authority Installation Programme (LAIP).

Five local authorities have been awarded £12.1 million through the first round of STCCF for the delivery of 500 charge points. The remaining £8.5 million has been awarded to 31 local authorities through the LAIP, which will see a further 300 charge points installed.

The aim of the funding is to fill in existing gaps in infrastructure to alleviate range anxiety in Scotland.

Glasgow City Council is to install 70 public charge points, including a new charging hub and charging facilities for taxis and private hire vehicles. Stirling Council will install 133 charging bays, as well as trialling 16 lamp post chargers.

Dundee City Council plans to install 66 charging bays and create a rapid charging hub close to the A90, Edinburgh City Council is to install 134 chargers and Falkirk Council is to install 106, including a 32 bay charging hub with integrated battery storage.

Read more: Current News

ULTRA-FAST electric car charging forecourts will roll-out across the UK this year with the start of a billion-pound project to build 100 solar-powered sites.

The first of more than 100 solar-powered forecourts to be built in the UK have been announced. Commercial vehicles will be able to recharge within 30 minutes at forecourts equipped with next-generation solar panels. While some smaller cars with high-speed charging can be fully topped up in just ten minutes. Gridserve, the British firm behind the billion pound project imagines their forecourts will eventually replace traditional petrol stations.

The first solar powered forecourt will be built in Braintree, Essex and Gridserve has already confirmed more than 80 sites will be built – with even more are in the pipeline.

“Airport-style” lounges will be built as part of the £1 billion ($1.31 billion) project, to offer commuters shops, and facilities as they wait for their cars to recharge.

Construction at sites in Hull and York are also expected to start before the end of the year.

Read more: Express

The new regulations governing the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme will take effect from 1 July, Roads Minister Michael Ellis announced today

Regulations covering a government grant scheme for electric vehicle (EV) chargers will require all devices funded through the initiative to use smart technology from 1 July, Roads Minister Michael Ellis will announce today.

The new rules mean all chargepoints backed by the government’s Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme must have the capacity to be remotely accessed and capable of receiving and reacting to a signal.

The functionality enables a device to engage in ‘smart charging’: adjusting when it takes charge to the ebb and flow of demand in the grid, responding to signals from the grid operator to halt charging at peak times.

Smart charging helps minimise peaks in electricity demand, minimising the impact of electric vehicles on the grid and keeping costs down for consumers. It also makes it easier to match demand from EVs with peaks in supply from weather-dependent renewables, such as wind farms, maximising emissions and cost savings in the process.

“The government wants the UK to be the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle, with leadership and innovation helping us pave the way to a zero emission future,” Ellis said. “Our new requirements for chargepoints could help keep costs down, ensuring the benefits of green transport are felt by everyone.”

Read more: Business Green

EV charging infrastructure in London is to undergo a major expansion, including five flagship charging hubs, in a bid for zero emission transport by 2030.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has laid out plans for an ‘electric revolution’ of London’s transport in line with ambitions for the capital to be one of the world’s leading zero-emission cities.

Five flagship charging hubs are to be introduced, the first of which will be operational in Square Mile by the end of 2019.

A ‘one-stop-shop’ for Londoners to request new charging infrastructure from local authorities will also be led by London councils, with the aim of making the switch to EVs easier.

Next generation ultra-rapid charging points are to be installed at London petrol stations later in the year, with 300 rapid chargers to be installed by the end of next year. There will also be a focus on expanding car clubs and bringing more vehicles to the market.

A new electric van, based on the electric black cab, has also been unveiled by the London Electric Vehicle Company, going on sale next year.

Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said whilst launch of the van and rapid chargers highlights the importance of EVs in improving air quality and reducing the impact of the growth in urban freight, the government should commit to a national rapid charging network.

“More action will needed– such as the ban on new diesel HGV sales by 2040 we recommended in our recent report on freight and reinforcing the electricity network – if we’re to meet the UK’s climate change targets and clean up the air in London and other cities,” Armitt added.

Read more: Current News

• New figures show there are 8,471 charging locations across the UK as of 22 May
• In comparison there are currently 8,400 petrol stations in the country

The electric car revolution is well and truly taking shape as new stats reveal there are more public charging locations for plug-in vehicles than there are fuel stations in the UK for the first time in history.

New figures from Zap-Map revealed that – as of 22 May – there are 8,471 charging locations across the UK with a total of 13,613 individual plug-in points.

In comparison there are currently 8,400 petrol stations in the country.

While more charge point locations are being added by the week, petrol station numbers are in decline.

In fact, the charge-point website says there has been a 57 per cent increase in EV charge points across the UK in the last 12 months alone.

‘Charging points can now be found across the length and breadth of the country, from the Shetland Islands to the Cornish Riviera, from Giant’s Causeway to the White Cliffs of Dover,’ it said.

The growing infrastructure is much needed if the network is to cope with the growing demand for charge points.

Uptake of electric vehicles has been rapid in recent years, increasing from only 3,500 cars on the road in 2013 to more than 210,000 examples currently.

Analysts have forecast that there will be 1 million EVs in use in the UK by the end of 2022, a figure backed by government policy that looks to electrify all new cars and vans by 2040.

Read more: This is Money

BRADFORD Council’s policy of requiring new homes to include electric car charging points is being tested by a developer.

In recent years the authority has made it a condition of all housing applications that include car parking to have a charging point.

But now a developer has submitted a planning application to remove that condition from a development of houses in Shipley, saying the charging points are not needed, as none of the new residents have electric cars.

In 2016 Bradford Council granted planning permission to Oak Tree Developments for the demolition of the Bradford Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Springhurst Road and the construction of 14 houses in its place.

One of the conditions of the approval was that a plan for electric vehicle charging points in each of the homes be approved by the Council before the homes were completed.

Planning officers said the condition was necessary “to ensure the development is constructed in an appropriate sustainable manner which takes into consideration air quality with in the District.”

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With the homes now built, Oak Tree has submitted an application to the Council calling for this condition to be removed from its planning approval.

Read more: Telegraph and Argus