Electric car charging points are set to be installed in car parks across South Norfolk.

Eastern Daily Press: Electric vehicle charging points are to be installed in car parks in South Norfolk. Picture: GettyElectric vehicle charging points are to be installed in car parks in South Norfolk. Picture: Getty (Image: Britta und Ralph Hoppe - www.FooTToo.de)

The EV points will be the first electric vehicle charging stations installed in Britain by Swedish energy company Vattenfall, which has ambitious plans to build a UK charging network.

Take up of electric cars in East Anglia has been described as a 'chicken and egg' situation with drivers put off by a lack of public charging infrastructure.

In partnership with British-based BMM Energy Solutions, Vattenfall will initially install and operate 20 InCharge charging stations, owned by South Norfolk Council, at five car parks in the district.

All of the power used to charge vehicles will be 100% renewable, supplied by its British wind farms.

South Norfolk Council cabinet member Keith Kiddie said: 'We are providing a network of charging points, in our car parks, to encourage and enable electric vehicle owners to shop in our market towns. We will also be giving our residents, living in town centres, the opportunity to consider using clean energy and buying an electric car, as they will now have access to charging points overnight.'

Electric car drivers will initially need a Vattenfall Incharge app or charge card to use the charging points on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The company said it is working on roaming agreements with other charge point operators to give drivers access to an expanding, reliable and easy to use network as they travel around the country.

Anthony Hinde, Vattenfall's managing director for InCharge, said: 'We launched InCharge in Britain earlier this year, so we are pleased, six-months later, to be installing our first ever InCharge public charging stations in Britain.

'Powered with 100% renewable energy from Vattenfall's British wind farms, drivers in South Norfolk can go electric with home grown wind power.'

Vattenfall is one of the world's leading wind power operators. In the UK it operates 10 wind farms totalling around 1GW.

Earlier this year the company submitted their application for a development consent order for the Norfolk Vanguard project, which would be one of the world's largest offshore wind farms off the north Norfolk coast.

* More information about InCharge