The man overseeing Devon’s move to electric cars gave us an exclusive interview to ask if Devon is ready for electric cars
Public fast charging stations for electric cars in Exeter that will be turned on over the next few weeksAuthor: Andrew KayPublished 6 hours ago
Last updated 44 minutes ago
Almost 4,500 electric vehicles are currently on the road across Devon – 400 public charging points are planned by Christmas.
Jose Contreras, the project manager for Rapid Charging Devon, says there are chargers in supermarkets, at work and at home too – but more will be needed as electric car sales continue to grow.
Last week, at the COP 26 summit in Glasgow, 30 nations agreed to make zero-emission vehicles the norm by 2030.
Across the UK, 15 percent of all new cars sold in September 2021 were all-electric vehicles – a total of 22 percent including hybrids.
Mr. Contreras is also Head of UK and Group Finance at Gamma Solutions & Energy based in Exeter
He added, “When you consider that an electric vehicle uses as much electricity as a normal household, that is a lot of new electricity demand in a standard city – and that requires a lot of infrastructure.
“If we want to phase out gasoline and diesel, the alternative needs a lot of infrastructure to serve that.”
Mr. Contreras has confirmed that in the future Devon will have a mix of street and street quick chargers.
After cycling and pedestrian activists raised concerns about the new 1.6 meter high public fast charging stations on the sidewalks in Exeter, which will be operational in the coming weeks.
He said, “We have taken great care that they are not sitting in front of houses, shops, or other important places. We made sure there was enough sidewalk for wheelchair users and strollers.
Should chargers be installed on sidewalks?
“There will be a mix of chargers on the sidewalk and on the street, it depends a lot on the location and the best use of space in those areas.
“We have to balance the need for parking spaces because obviously charging stations on the street are taking away parking spaces – with the need for pedestrians to use these sidewalks – and finding the right mix is a balancing act.”
From sidewalks to streets to lampposts – which areas have the right approach?
By the end of next year, Devon councils will have provided more than 400 public electric car chargers – including 74 quick chargers for the street – and are also offering more government funding to make cycling an e-bike easier by expanding the number of Co Bike charging stations.
So Devon is preparing for an electric car revolution
We can reveal that more public quick chargers are planned by the Devon councils – possibly with a total of 100 on the cards – and more units are expected to be installed across Devon after that.
Bicycle groups have raised concerns that they will be forgotten after claiming that the pandemic-proven Devon people will cycle when they feel safe.
Worldwide sales of electric bicycles are still higher than that of electric vehicles.
Is Devon replacing one type of traffic jam with another?
In 2030, all new conventional gasoline and diesel cars and vans will be banned from sales, new hybrids by 2035 if they cover a “considerable distance” in zero-emission mode.
Senior reporter Andrew Kay did a podcast on whether Devon is ready for an electric car revolution:
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