Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch hosted a Members’ Debate in the Scottish Parliament on the 10th of March, 2016, on the need for more electric car rapid charge points in Scotland.

Mr Thompson leased a Nissan Leaf electric car in December, 2015 and has been using it to travel around his constituency and beyond, including trips to the Parliament in Edinburgh and back, once via Fort William.

The MSP also recently urged the Minister for the Environment, Aileen McLeod, to back his proposal of increasing the number of rapid 50kW electric car charging points in the Highlands and Islands to make ownership of electric vehicles in the Highlands and Islands more attractive.

Mr Thompson said, “To tackle climate change, we must make electric car travel more attractive, so I was especially pleased to host a Members’ Debate in the Scottish Parliament on the 10th of March, 2016, on the need for more electric car rapid charge points in Scotland, and it was gratifying to have the Chair of the Electric Vehicle Association of Scotland Douglas Robertson, and his son, Iain, in the Chamber watching on. They have been very helpful in the lead-up to the debate, and I applaud their efforts in promoting and representing the interests of electric vehicle users in Scotland.

“Some people may have it in their heads that electric car travel is only for short journeys or use on small islands, but I have travelled from Inverness to Edinburgh via Fort William—a journey of 200 miles—with only three stops, which could have been two stops if there was a rapid charge point at Callander”.

“There are definitely not enough rapid charge points, particularly in the Highlands and in rural areas. Rapid charge points enable electric cars to get an 80 per cent boost in half an hour. There are fast charge points, but they take considerably longer. The lack of rapid charge points is off-putting to those who might otherwise be interested in purchasing an electric car for longer journeys”.

Dave went on,

“Although improvements to the network have been made and there are plans for more rapid charge points, there must be a concerted effort to streamline the whole charging experience for the user. We cannot possibly hope to increase electric vehicle ownership unless the network is maintained to an exemplary standard. That must be our aim”.

Notes:

Motion debated:

That the Parliament recognises Scotland’s role in reducing global warming; understands that, when fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas are burnt, they release CO2 into the atmosphere and are considered by the vast majority of the scientific community as a contributory cause of global temperature increases; considers that, thanks to human ingenuity, there are smarter ways to generate energy and that travelling by electric car reduces one’s carbon footprint; believes that “fast” (22kw) and “rapid” (50kw) electric charge points are becoming more prevalent in Scotland and that more rapid charge points are needed to make electric car travel in Scotland more efficient to encourage widespread use in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and across the country, and notes calls for all members to campaign in their constituencies to make this happen.

12:32

Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP):

I am very pleased that my motion has received cross-party support and I thank all the members who backed it. That cross-party support highlights the fact that Parliament recognises Scotland’s role in reducing global warming and the importance of electric car travel in reducing our nation’s carbon footprint.

As members will know, in December I leased a Nissan Leaf electric car, which has a real winter range of nearly 90 miles in mountainous terrain. I have been using it to travel around my constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, which is not exactly small, and I have used it to travel down to Edinburgh a couple of times. Some people may have it in their heads that electric car travel is only for short journeys or use on small islands, but I have travelled from Inverness to Edinburgh via Fort William—a journey of 200 miles—with only three stops, which could have been two stops if there was a rapid charge point at Callander.

That brings me to my first point. There are not enough rapid charge points, particularly in the Highlands and in rural areas. Rapid charge points enable electric cars to get an 80 per cent boost in half an hour. There are fast charge points, but they take considerably longer. The lack of rapid charge points is off-putting to those who might otherwise be interested in purchasing an electric car for longer journeys.

Bruce Crawford (Stirling) (SNP):

Callander is in my constituency. If Dave Thompson had drive

n a bit further north and gone on to Killin, he would have found a fast charge point.

Dave Thompson:

There may well be a fast charge point in Killin, but it would take three hours to get an 80 per cent charge. I need rapid charge points, which do that in 30 minutes. That is the point. By the way, I stopped at the Green Welly Stop, which is not far from Killin. I needed the extra stop.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to developing the charge network into one of the most comprehensive sets of rapid charge points in Europe.

My second point is that there needs to be charge point reliability. Without that, extra charge points will be rendered meaningless and the public’s perception of an electric car as a lesser motor vehicle that is used only for shorter journeys will remain.

I welcome members of the Electric Vehicle Association of Scotland to the Parliament, including the chair, Douglas Robertson, and his son, Iain. They have been very helpful in the lead-up to the debate, and I applaud their efforts in promoting and representing the interests of electric vehicle users in Scotland. If they wait at the bottom of the stairs after the debate, I will come round and see them.

There has been some negative press about the Scottish Government wasting money on providing rapid chargers in the rural north, so it was with delight that I learned that EVAS will host an event in June to highlight the many benefits of electric car travel in rural areas.

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP):

Will the member accept a brief intervention?

Dave Thompson:

Yes.

Kenneth Gibson:

I thank the member.

For me, this is a wee bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. A lot of people want to move to electric cars, but they do not do so because there are no rapid charge points, and there are no rapid charge points because there are not enough electric cars. How can we address that issue? Should we have the charge points first?

Dave Thompson:

I thank the member for that intervention. We need to sort out the charge point network—I will come on to that later. There are more and more electric vehicles on the road—especially all-electric vehicles, which need the rapid charge points, whereas the hybrids can run on petrol or diesel for a wee bit. The point is that we need to move away from petrol and diesel. Of course, electricity is also a lot cheaper.

EVAS hopes that the support that it has received from Transport Scotland, the Energy Saving Trust, green tourism and electric vehicle dealerships will result in electric vehicle roadshows, at which local people will be able to test drive an electric vehicle. I can tell you that my Nissan Leaf will do zero to 60mph in 11.5 seconds—it is very nippy, and very economical.

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD):
Will the member take another brief intervention?

Dave Thompson:
Presiding Officer, will you give me a little bit of extra time if I take more interventions?

The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Yes.

Liam McArthur:
I am very grateful to Dave Thompson—not just for taking the intervention, but for bringing the debate to Parliament.

My question is rather different from Kenny Gibson’s question. I think that Orkney has the highest per capita take-up of electric vehicles, demonstrating the cluster effect. Does Dave Thompson believe that, as part of the exercise that Transport Scotland and others are engaged in, it will be important to build up those clusters, as well as the network?

Dave Thompson:
The member raises an important point. Those clusters—and people’s confidence that they will be able to get charges when they need them—are vital.

In the past, the Scottish Government has supported rural petrol stations, and I believe that it can revitalise rural areas by providing electric vehicle charge points. Those can be fitted at cafes and shops, which local people and visitors might wish to use while their cars are charging. That should be considered as a way of building a new infrastructure for the modern age. It could be a real boon to rural areas. The investment would also help to encourage more electric car use and ownership in rural areas, and it would allow folk to tap into cheaper forms of transport—most electric vehicle dealers have many lease options available, such as the one that I have.

The total cost of ownership can be considerably less for an electric vehicle than for other vehicles—10p or 25p a mile may be possible. Taxis could save anything up to £9,000 a year on fuel costs. Indeed, on Tuesday, I was tagged on Twitter by someone who enthused that he had seen an electric taxi in Edinburgh, and, like me, he was calling for more.

I have received messages of support from many people in the run-up to the debate, and I would like to quote one of them. Mr Gill, who got in touch recently, shares my concerns. He tells me that it is

“incredibly difficult to get to and from the Isle of Skye with an electric car”.

I can testify to that. It is essential that the Shiel Bridge and Broadford rapid charge points are working as soon as possible. I am due to go to Skye a week tomorrow and, if those points are not working, I will have to hire a diesel or petrol car to get there. Maybe the minister can help me by ensuring that those two rapid charge points are working next week.

Mr Gill’s wife Heather tried to use the rapid charger at Broxden in Perth. There are two on the site, but one of them was completely offline—it was just not working, and apparently the second unit, which has been there for a year, has not been powered up. She was fortunate to be able to divert to South Inch in Perth, where the charger functioned, but only when she held the connector in place as some of the levers on the old connectors were broken and would not stay attached to the car. The newer connectors are much better, so we need the old ones to be replaced with newer ones as quickly as possible.

That brings me back to my earlier point: although improvements to the network have been made and there are plans for more rapid charge points, there must be a concerted effort to streamline the whole charging experience for the user. We cannot possibly hope to increase electric vehicle ownership unless the network is maintained to an exemplary standard. That must be our aim.

It is essential that electric car travel in Scotland becomes more efficient and that reliable rapid charge points become the norm. I take this opportunity to encourage electric car use in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and across the country as a means to reduce our carbon footprint. I call on all members in the chamber to campaign in their constituencies to make electric car travel more prevalent.

Finally, I look forward to hearing more about the good work of EVAS—

The Deputy Presiding Officer:
You must close, please.

Dave Thompson:
The work that EVAS is doing to promote and represent the interests of electric vehicle users is first class, and I hope that members will consider getting along to the EVAS electric car events in June.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10425&i=96006