Exclusive:Scotland's newest EV charging firm reveals where it wants to expand
Major tourist routes to the Highlands targeted
You’d think by the flurry of announcements from electric vehicle (EV) charging firms that Scotland would be saturated with places to top up your battery by now.
But apparently, far from it - and the lack of them is putting drivers off switching to electric.
Six years ago, I was astounded to discover there were no chargers in the vicinity of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh, which put paid to my plans to tour the ship while the electric car I was testing got refuelled for the trip back to Glasgow.
That may have since been rectified, but I was still pleased to see new charge point operator Source - run by Perth-based power firm SSE and fuel forecourt company TotalEnergies - has opened a charging hub next door at the Ocean Terminal shopping centre.
“Hub”, by the way, means, in the EV sense, a cluster of chargers, in this case 12 - rather than its use in aviation to denote an airport hosting connecting flights.
Source managing director Deepa Chandrasekaran, launching the site on Wednesday, told me there was still a “massive catch up” required to provide enough chargers for the number of electric vehicles on the roads.
She said: “That’s why you see people are frustrated because they don’t see enough infrastructure and they wonder if they are making a mistake buying an electric vehicle.”
For Source, the focus is on key roads in rural Scotland, such as the A9. Ms Chandrasekaran said: “The natural target is the most sought-after routes, whether it’s for locals or tourists.
“The Highlands are such a beautiful part of the country and it’s where sustainability and clean air comes into the picture, because if you’re driving your gas guzzler there, that’s almost ironical.”
Her comments echo Alex Reid, a director of the Scottish Rural and Islands Transport Community group, who this week underlined the crucial importance of a reliable network of EV chargers to encourage tourists - most of whom travel by car in rural areas - to use greener vehicles.
In his latest Rural Charge Weekly blog, he said charging points was now on touring visitors’ checklists along with parking and public toilets.
Let’s make them easier to find than filling stations.
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