Switching on to electric vehicles

In a move to explore ways of reducing its carbon footprint, staff at the Highland Council have been test driving an electric vehicle around Inverness.

The 9 seater Peugeot Tepee was supplied by Allied Vehicles from Glasgow who are the main suppliers of electric vehicles through the Scottish Government initiative currently running.

With a range of 100 miles, the vehicle runson 270 volts battery made up from 84 individual cells of lithium iron and takes 8 hours to fully charge up.

Council Leader Michael Foxley took a short drive around the city centre and was impressed with how the vehicle performed. He said:  “In our Carbon Management Plan we have a commitment to explore the use of electric vehicles so it was good to test drive what is available currently on the market. We acknowledged that electric vehicles can only tackle the issue of climate change provided the energy used to charge vehicles is not sourced from burning fossil fuels. The Council have a policy of purchasing green energy where available.

“I would be very keen to see the Council using electric vehicles in the Highlands but before this happens we need to undertake further trialing and evaluation and also importantly look at what external funding may be available.”

Chairman of the Planning, Environment and Development Committee, Councillor Ian Ross said:  “A big benefit of electric vehicles is that they are completely carbon neutral when they are running.  I can certainly envisage a time when electric vehicles replace conventional petrol or diesel cars and vans in areas of the Highlands.  This not only would help us reduce our carbon footprint but would also complement the wide range of other energy saving initiatives the Council is actively involved in such as the installation of renewable technologies in our schools and other buildings.”