Icelandic energy company ON Power has finally installed a fast-charging station in the area of Mývatn in the north of Iceland, thus officially opening the entire Ring Road to electric cars, Visir reports.
According to ON Power, by the beginning of 2018 the number of registered electric and hybrid electric cars in the country amounted to 4,848. 4 years ago, in 2014, there were only 94 electric cars in Iceland. As the numbers have increased in the past few years, ON Power had begun installing charging stations all around the country, but the company is also expected to install 20 more in remote areas such as the Westfjörds, the northeast and the Snæfellsness peninsula.
With the new fast charging station in Mývatn, however, the company has effectively insured the presence of a charger every 100 Km all along the Ring Road, ultimately making sure that electric cars won’t be a sole prerogative of the urban environment of Reykjavík.
“This kind of change in transports is one of the many measures that we’re working on to fulfil our global commitments when it comes to climate change,” Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson said. “Improving the range and endurance of electric cars is also something that plays a big factor in this.”
Guðmundur is also considering implementing electric cars in the car rental fleet that cater to tourists. So far, car rental companies have been reluctant when it comes to buying electric automobiles, but since the necessary infrastructure now exists outside of major cities, it’s not unlikely that the market will expand.
“Foreign travellers are coming to Iceland to experience the clean environment,” CEO of ON Power Bjarni Már Júliusson explained. “So we think that if electric cars were available for rental, they would welcome the change them gladly.”
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