Climate / Green councillor welcomes installation of electric vehicle chargers at Lerwick supermarket
A LOCAL Green councillor who previously spoke up for the idea of electric vehicle chargers in supermarket carparks has welcomed the impending arrival of new charge points at the Tesco in Lerwick.
Alex Armitage, who represents Shetland South, said there will be much of this kind of infrastructure in the future as new petrol and diesel cars are phased out.
Over the last few years Tesco has been rolling out charge points in its carparks in the UK in conjunction with Pod Point and Volkswagen.
They come at a cost, with national prices listed on the Pod Point website as 50p/kWh for 50kW rapid charging, 40p/kWh for 22kW chargers and 28p/kWh for 7kW fast charging.
Tesco was contacted for more information regarding the Lerwick charge points but did not respond in time for publication.
The charge points being installed at the supermarket are situated opposite the Click and Collect bays.
At the moment the council operated public electric vehicle chargers in Shetland are free to use, but proposals to introduce fees will go to elected members in the upcoming budget setting process.
Last year Armitage spoke up in the council chamber for the idea of electric vehicle charge points at Shetland’s supermarket, due to their busy footfall.
He welcomed the arrival of charge points at Tesco, but said he believed the future of travel lay outside private car use.
“I heard a saying recently that electric vehicles ‘are here to save the car industry, not the planet,” Armitage said.
“In my view, we will have to move away from private cars as our principal means of getting from A to B.
“The real future of transportation lies in buses, walking, cycling and car clubs.”
Meanwhile work is ongoing by the council to install an electric vehicle charge point at Burn Beach in Scalloway.
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