Written question WQ82662

Given the growing demand and the necessity to reduce carbon emissions from road transport, we are already working to increase the number of EV chargers across Wales.

We are investing over £8m through the £38m Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Transformation Fund (ULEVTF) for local authorities to roll out additional EV chargepoints in the financial year 2021/2022. We are also encouraging local authorities to take advantage of the OLEV On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme which provides up to 75% funding for such projects. In respect of the ULEVTF funding, our guidance highlights the following areas of charging provision where we would expect applications to be focused for public charging provision:

• Provision of charging infrastructure for electric vehicle, targeted at users without access to off-street parking. (Ideally co-funded using the OLEV grant).

• Provision of charging infrastructure in public car parks.

• Electric vehicle charging hubs – focused on areas with potential to support a variety of electric vehicle charging needs.

We would expect the first two points to centre around fast charging provision, whilst the third could include both fast and rapid especially in rural areas where we are also interested in piloting projects incorporating battery storage and renewable energy.

We have also recently published our EV charging strategy for Wales. The strategy sets out the wide range of different charging opportunities that will be available for those with electric vehicles, not just for those who can charge at home. This will be followed in June 2021 by an Action Plan which will set out clear actions for us to improve charging infrastructure across Wales.