17 public electric car charging stations now in operation throughout Kilkenny
THE transition to Electric vehicles (EVs) is being made easier thanks to a range of Government supports, Minister and Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan has claimed.
The Kilkenny TD said 17 public charging points are now in operation throughout the city and county.
Minister Phelan said: “For a country of our size, we have one of the more comprehensive charge point networks currently in place across Europe. The latest data for Kilkenny shows we have 14 standard charge points and three fast chargers.
“The majority of the existing network of publicly accessible charge points was rolled out by the ESB through its eCars programme.”
A real-time map showing the charge points, including the status and availability of the charge points, is available on the ESB’s website at www.esb.ie/ecars. Minister Phelan said the management of these charge points is “an operational matter” for the ESB.
An electric vehicle home charger grant was introduced in early 2018 to assist homeowners install an electric vehicle charge point on their property. This scheme will provide a grant up to the value of €600 towards the purchase and installation of a home charger unit. The scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
Minister Phelan added: “Electric vehicles offer an increasingly realistic solution to the challenge of reducing the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy in transport and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.
“SEAI is also offering grants of up to €5,000 for a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) purchased and registered in Ireland.”
