The Council is calling on residents, businesses, town and parish councils and anyone who has an interest in the charging infrastructure to support electric vehicles, to give their views on a new draft strategy.
Your feedback will help finalise an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy and shape future bids for government funding for more public chargepoints.
Find out more, read the draft strategy and complete the short survey
The strategy aims to define the direction of travel for expanding the EV charging network in Cornwall and explores the range of chargepoints needed to suit different situations.
It gives some predictions of the number of EVs expected in Cornwall up to 2050, with an increase from the current 2.4% of all vehicles, to around 8% in 2025, 27% in 2030, and 42% in 2035. By 2030, it is estimated that between 3,010 and 4,510 public chargepoints will be needed with the private sector expected to deliver a significant proportion of these.
The draft strategy identifies actions to help meet this demand, recognising that residents, visitors and businesses will have different needs. Currently, the focus is on supporting the transition to electric cars and vans.
The strategy does not identify specific locations that may be suitable to install chargepoints but after the strategy is agreed and adopted, plans will be put in place working with local communities and organisations to identify future sites.
Richard Williams-Pears, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said:
“The Council is already bolstering the existing network by installing units where there is limited coverage, such as rural areas where the private sector is unlikely to install their own chargers.
“We want to hear your views on the strategy to ensure we are targeting our actions in the right areas to support Cornwall’s transition to using more electric vehicles.”
Martyn Alvey, cabinet portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:
“This draft strategy marks the next significant step towards supporting transport decarbonisation and our 2030 net zero pledge. It complements the work we are doing to create and shape a Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) to identify and recommend required changes to local energy systems for heating, electricity, gas and transport, and play a major role in helping the region become carbon neutral.”
