Minister for Infrastructure, and the Deputy Mayor of Derry
and Strabane, Alderman Niree McMorris have welcomed the
appointment of a contractor to deliver over 250 EV charge points
across nine local councils including Derry City and Strabane
District Council, as part of the Office for Zero Emission
Vehicles' (OZEV) On Street Residential Charge Point Scheme
(ORCS).
Local EV infrastructure company Weev will supply, connect and
operate the charge points which will be located in a mix of
on-street and council-owned car park locations, within
residential areas that lack driveways/ off-street parking.
ORCS is led by Derry City & Strabane District Council, as the
Lead Council of the NI EV Consortium, which represents nine local
councils, the Department for Infrastructure and the Northern
Ireland Housing Executive.
The ORCS project is an investment of over £2 million part funded
by OZEV, the Department for Infrastructure and WEEV.
Infrastructure Minister welcomed the contractor
announcement and said:
“I am delighted my Department has been able assist in the funding
of over 250 charge points which will widen the electric vehicle
charge point offering across nine local council areas for the
public and local businesses. This shows my ongoing commitment for
my Department to support, where possible, the expansion of EV
charging facilities across the north, as the adoption of electric
vehicles gathers pace as we move towards Net Zero.”
Welcoming the appointment, Alderman Niree
McMorris said:
“Improving access to charge points is another positive step in
progressing the move towards sustainable, cleaner travel. It will
make electric charging more accessible and convenient for users
and encourage the switch to electric vehicles.
“Council has been taking an active role as lead of the consortium
and along with our partner councils we will continue to lobby for
more support for the improvement of local EV infrastructure.”
The chosen locations for the EV charge points are within
residential areas in a range of towns and cities, varying in
size, and work is set to commence in the coming weeks.
Thomas O'Hagan, Weev CCO said:
“We are delighted to be awarded the ORCS Contract and play our
part in growing Northern Ireland's EV infrastructure. The growth
of EV charger installations and EV car uptake is vital if we are
going to reach the net zero targets set by the Government.
Initiatives like ORCS, driven by local councils will have a huge
role to play.”
Mark McCall, Chair of Electric Vehicle Association Northern
Ireland said:
“Weev secured the top spot as the most reliable EV charger in our
annual EVANI survey where we polled electric vehicle owners
across Northern Ireland for their opinion. It was a well-deserved
accolade for Weev to be ranked number one against a growing
number of Charge Point Operators, as their dedication to the
service doesn't go unnoticed.”
Notes to editors:
- The ORCS funding of £1.4 million was matched by the
Department for Infrastructure who provided £470,685 of funding,
with Weev the Charge Point Operator adding a minimum of 10%
additional funding.
