Ireland ranks first in Europe for the provision of charging points in EV charging stations.
A survey in 19 European countries found that Ireland has the highest proportion of gas station forecourts with charging points for electric vehicles – 7.46 percent of the country’s gas stations have charging points installed.
Denmark ranks second with 5.37 percent. For Great Britain it is 1.76 percent, for Germany 1.04 percent.
The numbers were titled in a new report. released Bring the charges, commissioned by the Fuels for Ireland group. The group represents petrol station operators and companies involved in the import, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and low-carbon liquid fuels.
The report said the government can take steps to remove barriers to investing in EV charging points at gas stations. Currently, out of a total of 1,797 filling stations in Ireland, 134 have EV charging points.
The government needs to take a number of initiatives if it is to meet its EV targets by 2030.
There are currently 14,000 fully electric vehicles on Irish roads and the government’s goal is to have 936,000 on the roads within nine years.
Obstacles to the purchase of electric vehicles are the high purchase price and the “range anxiety” with which electric car owners fear that they may not be able to charge their vehicle in good time during long journeys.
The group said new superfast charging points in gas stations are expensive – up to € 100,000 apiece – but currently there are no government incentives for such investments.
Some companies have experienced long delays in accessing ESB local networks. If local networks have to be upgraded, the costs are put on the shoulders of the petrol stations.
“Our members have invested a lot of time and money. If we can get the support we need, we can build on this significantly in the years ahead, ”said Kevin McPartlan, Fuels CEO for Ireland.
Kevin Dowling, spokesman for the Irish EV Owners Association, said there were growing concerns about “the current inadequate public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.”
“Future electric car drivers will be more reluctant to switch from their gasoline / diesel vehicle if they are not sure that they can charge at any gas station, much like they refuel their cars today,” he said.
“This is especially true for people who are unable to recharge at Homeland.”
