EV Charging Point needs to be Tourism Priority for 2023
Over the past ten years, the displacement of diesel- and petrol-powered cars, vans, motorhomes, and the like by various forms of electric-powered vehicles (EVs) has been gathering pace.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has published a report entitled, “Making the transition to zero-emission mobility.” This study sets out the current position on the provision of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points in EU countries.
E;ectric Cars in big demand accross the EU
If you look at their figures from the perspective of re-kindling the tourist traffic arriving by ferry from the continent to Rosslare. Cork or Dublin ports, the haze of figures and graphs becomes clearer. In 2020 25% of cars on the roads in Holland were EV’s as were 14% of cars in Germany and11% of cars in France. The figure for Ireland was 7.3%. in Holland, there were 47.5 charging points per 100 km of road, for Germany the figure was twenty and for France, 7.5. The Irish figure was a single charger for 100k. of road. To put it another way, in Holland there were 66,665 charging points and in Ireland, 990. For details of the changing points in the UK here is a detailed guide on where to find them.
So, does this mean that one in five cars arriving on the direct ferry from Dunkirk, Cherbourg, or Roscoff will be an EV, and with the well-known enthusiasm of such travelers for the Wild Atlantic Way regions, they could be hitting massive problems in re-charging? There has been much talk recently about the urgent need for people to retrofit their houses to make them more environmentally friendly, might it not be a lot more urgent than all self-catering, B&B’s, Camp Sites, and hotels are fitted with EV chargers?
HOrn HEad Signal Point, Donegal, Ireland
The installation of a single charging point can cost the property owner anything up to €2000, a substantial extra cost for businesses that are in the early stages of economic recovery. There is also a need for the installation by Local Authorities or other appropriate agencies of “top-up” charging points at “Signature points” along the Wild Atlantic Way not only to serve the tourists stopping there but the coffee and ice cream vendors that otherwise must use air and noise polluting generators.
Links for Details on EV Cars and Car Charging Points in Ireland
Best Family-Friendly Holiday Home in EU