Electric cars seem to have been a hot topic in the motor industry for years, but are still yet to arrive in many numbers. This could be about to change this spring, as charging points are rolled out across Dublin. The first will appropriately be outside the ESB headquarters on Fitzwilliam Street, while others will be located at other government and semi state offices. The programme should see some 1,500 charging points by the end of 2011.

The ESB says it is confident of reaching Government targets of 10% of all vehicles on Irish roads being electric by 2020, despite the fact that only one electric car has been registered so far this year.

Renault is one car company that is working closely with the ESB. Its new Fluence model will be launched in a diesel version this month, but the company has also committed to having an electric version within 18 months. Renault says that this car will have a 160km range.

John Sullivan, who heads up the electric vehicles team for Renault, explains that there will be three charging options for this and other Renault electric cars. “We have slow domestic charge, which is normal phase. We will have three-phase, which is industrial, and we will have drop charge, where we exchange the battery on long journeys.” He also sees drivers leasing batteries separately to buying their cars. Renault says the size of Ireland makes it ideal for testing electric vehicles and infrastructure.