If you’re planning to change your car, a significant way of cutting your carbon footprint is to invest in an electric car. EVs reduce pollution and have lower input and running costs. On the other hand some argue that a low carbon future requires us to give up use and ownership of all private cars; others that the resources required to make electric vehicles diminish the saving in terms of carbon reduction; others that if we all went electric the demands for charging might not be sustainable. However, the fact remains that our society is likely to depend on private car ownership for many years, and electric cars have a key role to play in reducing carbon emissions and pollution. The Government’s aim is that by 2030 all new cars sold must be ‘zero emissions capable’ (battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric or hydrogen).
One local generic supplier of EVs, also selling second hand cars is CleevelyEV in Cheltenham; their website has lots of useful information.
A key issue is charging! If you have off road parking it should be possible to install a charging point. The installation cost varies but is offset by the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grant; this can reduce the cost of your home charger by up to £350. The paperwork is usually done by the supplier. For charging away from home there is a growing network of charging points – a number of mapping tools and apps are now available such as Zap-Map and Carwow. Also just launched is the Co-op’s Co-Charger; their app looks after the ‘matchmaking’ between people with chargers, known as ‘Hosts’ and ‘Chargees’ – those who’d like to share them. It handles the communications, bookings and payments.
Congratulations to Chalford Parish Council who have now installed two Electric Vehicle charging points at the Parish Centre. They are accessible 24/7 and are charged at 25p per kwh. Simply download the Project EV Pro App, scan the QR code or enter the numeric ID for the charge point and follow instructions. Great for local residents who do not have easy street access to a charger, and for visitors who need to top up.
If you have ideas and suggestions on where we could install EV charging points do get in touch and let us know: info@chalcan.org.uk