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Ofgem delivers £300 million investment to power ‘electric vehicle revolution’
04 June 2021
A £300 million investment by the government Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) will fund over 200 low-carbon projects including infrastructure to support 1,800 ultra-rapid charge points at motorway service areas and key trunk road locations in the UK – as well 1,750 new charge points in towns and cities.
Cities such as Glasgow, Kirkwall, Warrington, Llandudno, York, and Truro will benefit from the increased network capacity.
This investment, which will be delivered in the next two years, is part of a wider investment programme by Ofgem of £40 million for ‘safe, secure and clean energy’. Following the news that ultra-low emission vehicles count for almost 1 in 7 new car sales in 2021 and more than half-a-million cars on UK roads have a plug, this investment will support the rapid electric vehicle uptake in the UK.
The Ofgem website says that “every region in Britain will benefit from today’s announcement, with 204 net zero projects worth £300.5 million across England, Scotland and Wales”.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said, “This £300 million down payment is just the start of building back a greener energy network which will see well over £40 billion of investment in Britain’s energy networks in the next seven years.
“The payment will support the rapid take up of electric vehicles which will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets. Drivers need to be confident that they can charge their car quickly when they need to. We’re paving the way for the installation of 1,800 ultra-rapid charge points, tripling the number of these public charge points. Drivers will have more charging options for longer journeys.
“In the year that Glasgow hosts the COP26 climate summit, the energy networks are rising to the challenge and working with us and partners to accelerate projects that can start now, benefiting consumers, boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said, “I warmly welcome today’s news from Ofgem, which will greatly improve the resilience of our charging network as we build back greener.
“With more than 500,000 electric cars now on UK roads, this will help to increase this number even further as drivers continue to make the switch to cleaner, greener vehicles.”
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