Electric car drivers to plug in across Manchester

More than 300 charging points will be set up around Greater Manchester

Hundreds of charging points are to be installed across Greater Manchester to encourage the use of electric cars.

The region has successfully bid for a £3.5m grant to provide the charging points at five 'plug and park' areas.

Charging points will be established in Manchester, Oldham, Stockport, MediaCity and the Trafford Centre, as well as along major routes.

It follows news that the first generation of subsidised electric cars will be available from the New Year.

Green electricity

Greater Manchester is the only city region in the UK to benefit from the Plugged-In Places scheme, announced by the government.

The project, to promote the use of electric and hybrid vehicles across the UK, will see more than 300 charging points installed in the area, as part of a total of 4,000 across the UK.

'PLUG AND PARK' AREAS Manchester city centre Oldham Stockport Trafford Centre MediaCityUK Major routes including A57, A6, A34 and A5103 4,000+ locations across the UK

Motorists will able to re-charge - as well as hire - the environmentally-friendly vehicles at the five designated 'plug and park' locations.

Major roads such as Princess Parkway, the A57 Hyde Road, A34 Kingsway and routes between Manchester, the airport and MediaCity in Salford Quays have also been identified as possible locations.

However, unlike other electric car schemes, Greater Manchester is hoping to offer green, renewable electricity at its charging stations from biomass generators, according to the Greater Manchester Environment Commission.

The commission's chairman Dave Goddard said it was "great news".

"The electric cars are a fantastic way to keep Greater Manchester on the move in the most low carbon way possible."

A spokesman for the Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) said it hoped the Plugged-in Places project would kick start the use of electric vehicles and stimulate the development of new technologies and industries.

Expensive

With running costs now said to be as low as a penny per mile, the government is now hoping that electric cars will become a real consideration for many motorists.

MediaCity in Salford will be one of the plug and park areas

Electricity at plug and park areas will be charged at 35 pence per kilowatt hour (kwh) for private vehicles, and 14 pence/ kwh for public or fleet vehicles.

Servicing costs for electric cars are also lower than a petrol car, and vehicle tax is free.

And from 1 January next year, the government will also give a £5,000 subsidy to each electric car that is purchased in the UK.

Details have been released of the first nine electric cars that will be eligible as part of the initiative which begins on 1 January 2011.

However, the batteries are still expensive which, along with the relatively high purchase price and the rapid depreciation, remain the main challenges to electric motoring becoming financially competitive.

Government money for Plugged-In Places has been match funded to the tune of £3.5m by the Peel Group, Electricity North West, Manchester Airport, Siemens and Chuckledan Properties Ltd.