NI Plugs into Electric Cars 3 April 2012
Looking to the future as Northern Ireland plugs into electric cars
Regional Development
Minister Danny Kennedy and Environment Minister Alex Attwood have jointly
launched the infrastructure that will support the increasing number of owners
and drivers of electric vehicles in Northern Ireland.
An electric vehicle
or ecar is any vehicle that is powered, in full or part, by a battery that can
be charged by plugging it directly into a mains electricity supply.
The Ministers arrived
together at City Hall in Belfast in a car wholly powered by batteries to reveal
details of the first phase of public charge points that have been appearing in
cities and towns across Northern Ireland.
Danny Kennedy said: The
ecar Project in Northern Ireland, jointly led by Department for Regional
Development and Department of the Environment, is set to change the way we
think about transport.
While most drivers
will recharge their ecars at home overnight, from today the first of what will
become a fully integrated network of public charge points becomes available to
everyone using an electric vehicle. The charge points provide a convenient
facility for drivers to top–up away from home, if necessary.
Whether we use the
car for personal or commercial reasons, electric vehicles, with a typical range
of around 100 miles on a full charge, now offer a tangible alternative to
petrol or diesel fuelled vehicle.
Over 40 public
opportunity charge–points are now available in Belfast, Londonderry, Newry,
Armagh, Enniskillen and Larne. Over the next year this number will increase to
around 140. Special rapid chargers will also be introduced close to major roads
that can charge a vehicle to 80% of its capacity in just 25 minutes. Charge
Points in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland are fully compatible. Their are charge point location
maps and more general information at http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/ecar.
Commenting on the importance
of todays launch, Environment Minister Alex Attwood said: From a climate
change, an air quality and a health perspective there is a clear need to do
something about the emissions from road transport. One of the ways of tackling
this challenge while retaining flexibility over transport choice is to
encourage greater use of low emission / zero emission vehicles.
My aim is to make
Northern Ireland a world leader in carbon reduction and the use of electric
vehicles, ideally powered by electricity from renewable sources, is an
excellent way to decarbonise transport and contribute to our climate change,
air quality and noise objectives.
I see electric
vehicles as an exciting part of our transport future and I would encourage both
individuals and fleet buyers to consider electric vehicles as a truly viable
alternative to petrol or diesel power.
Anyone, including
business users, can take advantage of a Government grant that offers a saving
of up to 5,000 off the list price of a new electric car or up to 8000 off the
list price of a new electric van.
The first 300 private
or business users who buy an electric vehicle qualify for a 1,500 grant to
install a charge point at their home or workplace.
Other financial
incentives include exemption from fuel duty, vehicle excise duty, company car
tax, van benefit charge and fuel benefit charge. Business users can also
benefit from enhanced capital allowances.
