Western Gateway's joint Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Study has been published in partnership with Peninsula Transport STB, providing an evidence base to support future EV charging policy across the South West region.
EV use is set to accelerate and the number of public charge points must be able to cope with demand, ensuring that EV drivers can travel with the confidence of being able to top up when needed. To meet this demand, it is forecast that up to 33,600 charge points could be required across the South West by 2030, with the public sector expected to deliver up to 20,000 of these.
The data from this study will help local authorities to understand where, how many and what type of chargers will be required. The study takes into account the split between rural and urban demand along with seasonal changes in demand, as well as likely areas of private sector investment.
This data has been shared with local authorities to help their Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) bids and delivery programmes, following the Department for Transport’s announcement of a national £343m LEVI Fund to help local authorities address the need for public electric vehicle charging.
The next step will be to create an easy-to-use interactive dashboard to provide a spatial visualisation of EV uptake and charge point demand. We will also be setting up a South West EV forum to engage more widely with stakeholders to address these strategic issues, as well as developing a regional EV strategy.
The study can be found at: https://westerngatewaystb.org.uk/electric-vehicle-charging-study/
