New funding to encourage plug-in car use
26 Jun 2014 11:41 AM
Funding for domestic chargepoints to benefit
consumers.
The
next phase of support for plug-in car drivers to recharge their vehicles at
home has been announced yesterday (25 June 2014) by Transport Minister Baroness
Kramer.
In
February 2013 the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) launched a
£13.5 million grant scheme subsidising householders wishing to install
technology to recharge ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) at
home.
ULEVs are increasing in global popularity because of
their low driving costs and green credentials and the government is working
closely with industry to ensure the UK is a world leader in the sector, with
almost £1 billion committed to its development and incentives to
encourage uptake.
London already has Europe’s largest urban
chargepoint network, with more chargepoints than petrol stations, and by the
end of this year there will be rapid chargepoints in every motorway service
station in England, which will allow drivers to recharge their cars in the time
it takes to grab a coffee.
The
original funding for domestic chargepoints has now been fully allocated and, to
ensure continued support for both consumers and the industry, a new grant
scheme is to be put in place.
Baroness Kramer said:
Uptake of plug-in vehicles is gathering pace and we want
to make sure that people thinking about becoming part of this technological
revolution have the confidence that they will always have somewhere to charge
their car.
Our
scheme has been tremendously popular and we are keen to continue the roll out
of chargepoints to driveways and garages across the country. That is why we are
launching a successor scheme today to help make this important technology as
commonplace in your home as a plug for your kettle. It will also help create
British jobs in the sector, while also cutting driving costs and carbon and
improving air quality.
The
mass roll out of domestic charge points made possible by this programme has
also made them cheaper over time. This is reflected in the new grant scheme
announced yesterday, which will cap support at £900 rather than the
maximum of £1,000 available under the previous scheme.
The
new scheme will see £9 million made available to:
- any ULEV owner and also drivers with regular
access to one for work who are having a chargepoint installed at their
home
- provide up to 75% of the total cost of the chargepoint
and installation, up to a maximum of £900
The
new domestic chargepoint scheme will come into effect on 1 September 2014 and
will run until 31 March 2015, or until the scheme budget has been
exhausted.
The previous grant scheme will expire on 30 June 2014. However, to
facilitate existing installation orders we are putting in place interim
arrangements from 1 July until 31 August 2014 along broadly similar lines to
the existing scheme. These will apply until the new scheme starts on 1
September 2014.
Documents
Local transport media enquiries