NEW electric car charging points at Southampton Airport are already sparking savings, say bosses.
The points have been up and running for just over a month, but the environmental impact is already being felt.
The free charging bays have saved 205KW in their first five weeks of operation – equivalent to saving 143 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions from the local atmosphere.
There are six charging bays in the airport’s public car parks – four in short stay and two in priority parking.
With no extra charges for this service, drivers simply hook up to a charging point and pay normal parking rates.
Local drivers are encouraged to drop by, park in an available bay and recharge their vehicles while enjoying a coffee from the comfort of the terminal building, just three minutes’ walk away.
Over the course of the first year, the airport estimates that the charging bays will save around 1500kg of carbon dioxide emissions - the amount of greenhouse gas from an average passenger car driven 4,375 miles.
Dave Lees, managing director of Southampton Airport, said: “The number of drivers switching to EVs is increasing exponentially.
"These drivers need access to public charging as they go about their lives, and we need to make sure we’re meeting the needs of this particular group of customers.
"We’re also pleased to be helping build the UK’s charging infrastructure with this installation.
“In the future we may install more charge points, but for now we’ll monitor usage of these along with feedback from our customers.
"And, we’ll be tracking our C02 emissions to see what savings we are making in this area.”
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