Electric car charging grants for schools rise to £2,500

The government has increased a grant offered to schools to install electric car charging points to £2,500, and said settings could use them to generate revenue.

Under the scheme, schools could previously apply for up to £350 towards the cost of installing charge points.

Today, technology minister Anthony Browne announced the government will now cover up to 75 per cent of the cost of buying and installing the points, up to £2,500 per socket.

Charge points could be used by school staff and visitors, and the government said schools could also “generate revenue by making their chargepoints available to the public”.

The announcement is part of a wider scheme to create more charging infrastructure across England. Funding of £381 million is going to local authorities to install the technology in their areas.

It comes after LocatED, the Department for Education’s property company, suggested car charging as a potential use for school land in 2022.

Matt Robertson, associate director of property at the organisation, told a Westminster Education Forum event the roofs of schools could be used for solar panels and car parks for electric vehicle charging outside of school hours.

“The school car park is typically used during the day by teachers, by staff, by visitors. There are other opportunities there to provide evening parking for electric vehicle charging.”

‘Exciting opportunity’

Baroness Barran, the academies minister, said it was an “exciting opportunity for schools across England to become part of an ongoing move towards a greener public sector”.

“Schools engaging with this grant will be supporting the development of green infrastructure, helping to improve their local environments.

“Developing a greener education estate is a key element of our sustainability and climate change strategy. The expansion of this grant supports our ambition to improve the sustainability of our schools in the ongoing move towards net zero.”

The government said its schools grant was for state-funded education institutions “which must have dedicated off-street parking facilities”. Applications can be made online.

Independent schools “may apply for funding through the workplace charging scheme and the electric vehicle infrastructure grant for SMEs”.