Electric vehicle charging network to be created in Richmondshire

Richmondshire District Council is set to use £233,000 of its reserves to create its first electric vehicle charging network as part of a drive to become a net zero carbon district.

A council meeting is set to hear a proposal to install 18 electric vehicle charging points at its car parks in Nuns Close, Richmond; Hawes; Leyburn; Muker; Hildyard Row, Catterick Garrison and Langthwaite.

An officers’ report to the authority’s corporate board states the proposal for charging points capable of achieving full charges in less than two hours links with its priority to make its operations zero carbon by 2030 and encourage initiatives that help Richmondshire become a net zero carbon district.

The proposals follow the government stating all drivers of electric vehicles should be able to access public charging infrastructure that is affordable, efficient and reliable.

In 2018, there were 12,000 electric registered in the Yorkshire and Humber region, representing six per cent of the national total and current projections are that the number of electric vehicles will double annually in the medium term.

The officers’ report states: “With a fast developing market it is inevitable that a review will need to be undertaken within five years which may call for the renewal or upgrading of our charging infrastructure.”

The type of charging points to be installed are likely to be between 10kwh and 50kwh, as 150kwh “ultra rapid” charges are not suitable for older electric vehicles with different recharging capacities.

The report states charging bays would have a maximum stay per user of two hours to ensure the maximum number of drivers can use the facilities.

However, officers said they recognise “that this may cause a degree of inconvenience whereby a user connects their electric vehicle to a charging point and then needs to return within a specified time and move to an alternative standard car parking space”.

Councillor Philip Wicks, the council’s operational services spokesman, said the scheme was a key part of the authority’s climate change agenda, and was aimed at visitors to the area as well as the many residents were unable to park outside their homes.

He said the proposed scheme was about learning practical and strategic lessons to develop a more extensive network in the coming years.

Cllr Wicks said: “It is very much as starting point. The technology is changing all the time, so this is like dipping a foot in the water. It is still a substantial investment.

“It is absolutely a green measure and not about income generation at all. Any charges are there to cover the cost of the electricity and maintenance of the charging units.”

Cllr Wicks said to ensure as many vehicles as possible could use the points the authority was considering how it could charge anyone who overstayed the proposed two hour limit.

2 Comments

  1. It’s admirable to see the Council planning to provide charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs). However, I would like to suggest that the approach is not the right one and the money would be better invested in multiple lower-power “destination chargers” than a very few high-power chargers.
    It’s a common misunderstanding to think about fully charging a car as quickly as possible. As an owner of two EVs the most common questions I’m asked are “How far will it go?” And “How long does it take to charge?”. But as any EV owner knows, these are not the key issues.
    When on a long-distance motorway journey it IS necessary to add as much charge as possible, as quickly as possible. But in rural and tourism-rich areas the need is entirely different. The standard Type 2 connector on all EVs of the past 6 years (and the future) operate at 7kW. Large EVs tend to average 3 miles per kWh while smaller ones can achieve 5 miles per kWh. So with 7kW/h chargers, one of these can add between 21 and 35 miles of range per hour of charging. At a tourist attraction, a stay of 2-5 hours is not unusual, which would add 63-175 miles of range. But the key is the VOLUME of these charge points. We need at least 10 or 20 such points in car parks.
    One or two ‘super fast’ chargers that allow a car to add 100+ miles of range in an hour are perfect for the motorway, but in an around rural areas they are almost pointless in the real world. Would you drive to Hawes, for example, in the hope that you will arrive and find the singe charger available for use? Would you wait for an hour to charge if it’s currently in use? Would you go for a walk, knowing you have to return within an hour or receive a fine?
    Car parks in major cities are now commonly being fitted with 20-50 of these 7kW charge points that are used while shopping, going to the cinema (Covid aside, of course), visiting restaurants, etc.
    The cost of each ‘SuperCharger’ is massively higher poor-rate than multiple 7kW chargers and considerably harder to supply the high power demands.
    Please do canvas opinions from EV drivers to see what they actually need before investing in a VERY few inappropriate choices.
    Thank you,
    Rob Pickering
    (EV driver)

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