The Welsh Government is set to invest £15 million to boost EV charging across the country ahead of phasing out fossil fuel vehicles by 2030.
The funding will be allocated to a number of projects being explored up and down the country. It also follows on from an already invested £26 million since 2021 in Wales’ EV charging infrastructure which has led to 1,600 charges being installed.
£1 million has been allocated to Wrexham Council to roll out EV charging facilities at a charging hub in the city centre as well as sites in remote, more rural locations across the county.
£900,000 has also been awarded to Cardiff Council for the next two years to roll out EV charging in the region and provide rapid charging infrastructure at Lamby Way depot for 12 electric Refuse Collection Vehicles, as part of Cardiff Council’s fleet of 78 Refuse Collection Vehicles.
“Drivers need to have the confidence to make the switch to EVs as demand increases and that’s why we are committed to creating high quality EV infrastructure across Wales. Most of this work will be delivered by the private sector but our role is to facilitate private sector investments across Wales and ensure equality of access,” said deputy minister for climate change Lee Waters.
“To help with this, we have created a private sector taskforce which will engage with the market, break down any barriers to investment and accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure.
“The funding announced today is another step in the right direction but we have further to go – we will continue to work with local authorities and the private sector so that Wales keeps up with the rapid increase in the number of EVs.”
According to data released by the UK Government in early May, Wales had the highest increase in EV charging installations with an increase of 11.9% in the opening three months of 2023, as reported by Current±.
For the UK in its entirety, there were 40,150 public EV charging devices installed in the UK, while the total installed devices increased by 3,095 – an increase of 8% since the start of the year.
