ScottishPower has joined forces with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HiTrans) to increase the number of rapid charging stations across western Scotland. The collaboration aims to install 24 new charging points in underserved areas, focusing on Argyll and Bute, the Highlands (Skye, Lochaber and Lochalsh), and the Western Isles.
The Scottish utility will manage the installations using Raption 50 chargers, which provide 50 kW of charging capacity. The technology has already been tested and used in ScottishPower’s existing charging network, which was launched in 2019.
The new charging infrastructure is part of the FASTER project, which is supported by âŹ6.4 million in EU funding under the INTERREG programme. The initiative targets the rollout of 73 rapid charging stations across Western Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland (Border Region) by May 2023.
Chris Carberry, Smart Solutions Director at ScottishPower, stated that the initiative aims to address the challenges faced by rural areas when accessing charging infrastructure. He added that ScottishPower is delighted to partner with HiTrans to improve accessibility and support public access to rapid charging for their electric vehicles.
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The Power Network Demonstration Centre has identified the sites for the new charging points, which will extend the existing ChargePlace Scotland network. The Scottish government-funded ChargePlace Scotland is a public charging network that operates under public-private partnerships.
ScottishPower will provide a three-year warranty and maintenance package and a one-year works guarantee for the new charging infrastructure, with all work scheduled to be completed before the end of October 2023.