Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) becomes only the second business to take part in My Electric Avenue’s UK electric car trials.
YHN, who manage over 28,000 properties, has chosen 13 employees out of 50 applicants to take part in the electric car study, My Electric Avenue. The chosen 13 will take private leases of Nissan LEAF electric vehicles (EVs), which will be used as their main mode of transport for the duration of the project.
David Henry, environmental sustainability co-ordinator at YHN said: “There were lots of people keen to get involved with the trials so when we heard that there was an opportunity to form a business cluster, and test the impact of multiple vehicle charging from our own head office, it was the opportunity we’d been waiting for.”
Six charge points have been installed at YHN’s offices on Benton Park Road, close to the UK’s biggest residential cluster in South Shields. The chargers are being used on a daily basis now the trial is underway.
The trials are being led by EA technology, hosted by Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution, and supported by partners such as North East based consultancy Zero Carbon Futures.
The My Electric Avenue project is designed to help understand the demand on the electricity network when electric cars are commonplace. By monitoring clusters of EV drivers across the UK, the project will collect valuable data that will help analyse the impact of electric vehicle charging on the national grid.
Lois Warne, technical advisor of Zero carbon Futures, commented: “The trials offer a unique opportunity for communities and businesses to test drive an EV and to experience the many benefits that they provide.
“It is essential that we are prepared for when electric cars become commonplace in years to come. The technology that is being trialled through the project will monitor and control the electricity demand from charging electric cars and, in the long-term, will save expensive and potentially disruptive work being carried out to upgrade the electricity network.”
My Electric Avenue, The Journal
