NEWS > Driving The Green Economy
Published: Friday, 11 Jun, 2010
The ambition in Milton Keynes to place 1,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2014 has accelerated with a GBP500k grant from the South East England Development Agency, SEEDA announced on 04 JUne 2010. The funding is in addition to the GBP2.3m Plugged in Places government funding already
The ambition in Milton Keynes to place 1,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2014 has accelerated with a GBP500k grant from the South East England Development Agency, SEEDA announced on 04 JUne 2010. The funding is in addition to the GBP2.3m Plugged in Places government funding already available for 250 electric vehicle charging posts, and will contribute towards Milton Keynes’ development of its low carbon strategy.
SEEDA funding runs from 2010 until 2012 and will link two neighbouring South East growth hubs together, extending the economic and sustainability impact to Aylesbury, Bicester and Oxford. This will enable two of the South East’s key cities, Milton Keynes and Oxford, to work together to deliver a comprehensive network of charging posts and increase demand for electric vehicles over a wide geographical area.
The initiative is expected to generate GBP2.4m of private sector investment, significantly reduce carbon emissions and create demand for an additional 415 cars by 2012. Private sector partners for the initiative currently include Mercedes and Nissan Technical Centre. The project is expected to attract inward further investment from the private and public sectors and provide a catalyst for the development of new related products and services.
Research undertaken in 2009 projected that 19,000 electric vehicles will be in use by 2012 and 116,000 by 2015. Whilst there is growing demand for electric cars, distance capability remains a key concern. SEEDA funding will help to establish where charging posts should be located in order to generate maximum impact and ensure that electric vehicles are a viable option for drivers.
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