Electricity North West to invest in vehicle charging points at Birch Services

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

Electric vehicle charging points at the westbound Birch Services

Electricity North West is planning to reinforce the network in Heywood to pave the way for more electric vehicle charging points at the Birch motorway services.

Electricity North West is looking to invest around £15million in 11 projects it has identified and hopes will drive ‘a green recovery from Covid-19’ - helping the region’s economy recover and hit net zero carbon targets.

A public consultation is being held by Electricity North West to help it prioritise the schemes and suggest any others for consideration. The Heywood/Birch improvements is the only local project listed.

The public consultation is part of a national exercise coordinated with energy regulator Ofgem, to ensure that communities across the country are involved in deciding where to focus immediate investment to kick-start the green recovery. The investment will also support the government’s 10-point plan to make the UK net zero carbon by 2050, and the projects identified will all support the transition to lower carbon technologies across the region.

Paul Bircham, regulation director of Electricity North West, said: “The UK is at a crossroads and whether it hits its decarbonisation targets depends to a great degree on the decisions made right now.

“We have the opportunity to make the environment the focus of our economic recovery from Covid-19, which is exactly what we’re doing here.

“By bringing forward some of these projects, we hope to help lead the north west towards net zero by increasing the capacity of our network and making it easier for people and businesses to adopt the types of new technologies that will be at the heart of our shift away from fossil fuels to a greener economy.”

For further information or to take part in the six-week public consultation, visit www.enwl.co.uk/greenrecovery