Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme

Overview

Introduction

The Government’s Shared Island initiative was launched in October 2020 and engages with all communities and political traditions to build consensus around a shared future and delivering tangible benefits for the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. The Shared Island Fund was established by the Government in Budget 2021, with €500m in capital funding ring-fenced for investment in North/South projects that deliver cross-border initiatives. The Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme will receive €15m from the Shared Island Fund for the period 2023- 2024.

The purpose of this Scheme is to support the roll out of publicly accessible electrical vehicle charging points at sports club facilities across the island of Ireland and is one of the key actions in the Department of Transport’s recently launched Electrical Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2025. The Strategic Objectives of the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme are:

To contribute to developing a sustainable and accessible EV charging infrastructure network across the island
To assist the transition to electric vehicle use across the island
To make a positive contribution to local and national climate change actions

The Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme has been developed in partnership with sports organisations across the island including Sports Ireland and the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB’s). The Scheme has been designed with a view to making it easy and straightforward for NGB’s and their affiliated clubs to engage with and participate in the Scheme. The overall approach involves an initial Expression of Interest by sports clubs followed by an assessment and selection process based on the eligibility, suitability and feasibility of each sports facility applying to the scheme. The application and selection process is clearly outlined in Section 3 of these guidelines.

The Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme is an initiative of the Department of Transport and will be managed by ZEVI (Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland). The scheme will be administered on behalf of the Department and ZEVI by Pobal.

Funding Levels

The fund has a total value of £13 million (€15 million) for the period 2023-2024.

Funding is at the discretion of Pobal.

Who can apply to the Scheme?

The Expression of Interest process requires that sports clubs must firstly express their interest in the scheme via their relevant National Governing Body (NGB). As such the Eligibility Criteria for the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme apply to both NGB’s and individual sports clubs.

Eligibility Criteria for NGB’s:

To be eligible to submit an Expression of Interest List, the National Governing Body must:

Be a Sports Ireland recognised National Governing Body for Sport and have a legal status on the island of Ireland or a Northern Ireland Sport Governing Body.

And

Operate on an all-island basis

If a Governing Body for Sport does not operate on an all-island basis it must have a partnership in place with its equivalent body in the other jurisdiction.

Eligibility Criteria for Sports Clubs

For a Sports Club to be included on their NGBs (National Governing Body) Expression of Interest List, the Sports Club must be:

Affiliated to an NGB recognised by Sport Ireland or a Northern Ireland Sport Governing Body and which operates on an all-island basis

Affiliated with a Governing Body for Sport, which has a partnership in place with its equivalent body in the other jurisdiction.

Minimum Requirements for Potential Sites

In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria set out above, applicant clubs must meet the following minimum requirements for their facility to be considered as a potential site for investment under the scheme:

Have a 3 phase electricity connection
Be the owner of the site, or hold a current long term lease with a minimum of 15 years to run
Where leasing, have the permission of the owner of the property to install EV charging points
Have suitable car-park spaces – a minimum of 2 car-parking spaces per EV charging point
Be open to the public - the EV charging points must be available to the public for a minimum of 10 hours per day, 5 days a week, all year round (subject to normal public holidays)
Provide reasonable facilities such as publicly accessible toilets, seating area, food/drink available for purchase on site or within 500m of the Sports Club

Further detail on the Minimum Requirements is provided in Section 9. Frequently Asked Questions.

Please note the following:

NGB’s are eligible to apply for their own facilities that meet the Minimum Requirements.
Sports Clubs cannot submit an Expression of Interest or apply to Pobal directly for this Scheme.
Sports Clubs that are not affiliated to an NGB for Sport, recognised by Sports Ireland, or equivalent governing body in Northern Ireland are not eligible to apply to the Scheme.

What the Funding Will Cover

Under the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme funding is being made available to fund the significant civil and electric works associated with preparing a site for the installation EV Charging Points. Scheme funding will not cover the cost associated with the ongoing maintenance and operation of the EV Charging Point(s) installed, which will be subject to a licencing agreement between the sports club and the Charge Point Operator.

Eligible Costs

Under Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 General Block Exemption Regulation eligible costs for the Scheme must be:

Directly related to the project being applied for
Incurred by the end of the project delivery date
Must not have occurred prior to the approval date of the application

Therefore, upgrades to existing charge points will not be considered by this Scheme.

Below is a list of eligible costs. This is not an exhaustive list.

Preparing sites: Funding is to be used to prepare sites for the installation of one or more of the following:
- Single charger - 50KW DC; or
- Bundle A – 1 x 50KW DC plus 22KW AC

The scheme will fund the civil and electrical works for the installation for a maximum of two EV Charging Points per club. Each affiliated club can only nominate one site. Any professional fees (for example, independent legal advice or survey, or electrical expertise) incurred by the Club or NGB associated with the civil and electrical works prior to the commencement of the installation are not eligible, including the installation of 3 phase electricity at the site prior to the commencement of the Scheme.
Certain necessary additional civil and electric works. The Department of Transport/ZEVI reserve the right to reconsider the cost of including Phase 3 installation where it may be necessary for the Department of Transport to achieve the overall strategic objectives and purpose of the Scheme.

Track grant Notes