UK opens its first electric-only car charging station

The UK has officially opened the doors to its first all-electric car charging station, located in Braintree in Essex.

The all-electric charging station is operated by Gridserve, a company that operates and maintains sustainable energy projects and represents a huge milestone in the countries gradual transition away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The Charging station, which has been dubbed Electric Forecourt, features 36 charging stations, each delivering 350kW of power. Gridserve claims that is enough power to provide 320 kilometres of range in just 20 minutes. In terms of what this will cost users, the company estimates that an average-sized electric vehicle can be charged from 20 to 80 percent for less than R200.

The Electric Forecourt draws its power from a number of renewable sources, including a series of solar panels located on the charging-stations canopies, and a dedicated network of hybrid solar farms.  There is also a 6 MWh battery on site which helps to balance the local energy grid and shift energy to periods when it is more valuable.

“On windy winter nights the battery can store enough energy to drive 24,000 miles in electric vehicles the following day,” Gridserve explained in a statement.

The Electric Forecourt in Braintree is the first of over 100 electric charging stations being built by Gridserve over the next five years. They will be used to provide EV drivers in the UK with a cheap and reliable source of power for their vehicles, which will be required for the inevitable mass adoption of EV vehicles, ahead of the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars.

“It’s our collective responsibility to prevent greenhouse gas emissions rising further, and electric vehicles powered by clean energy represent a large part of the solution,” said Toddington Harper, Founder and CEO of Gridserve.

“However, charging has to be simple and free of anxiety, which is why we’ve designed our Electric Forecourts® entirely around the needs of drivers,” he added.

Picture: Gridserve