The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Charging ahead on electric car hub in city
A ground-breaking electric vehicle (EV) charging hub has opened in Dundee city centre.
Thought to be the first of its kind in the UK, the hub, which is situated at the top of Greenmarket multi-storey car park, has 20 charging bays, with 7kw chargers powered by solar canopies. It is also equipped with an innovative battery storage system.
A central system controls the charging points, and new technology shifts the supply of energy depending how many vehicles are charging.
The hub is the first of three in the city sited to encourage commuters to charge during the day and residents to charge their EV at night.
When all three are open, they will provide an extra 60 charge point connections.
Dundee has one of the highest concentrations of battery EVS of any city in the UK. The charging infrastructure has continued to grow since it was first introduced in 2011 with a mixture of publicly-available and council-only chargers being installed by Dundee City Council, whose fleet has the most EVS of any UK local authority.
The multi-storey EV charging hub project was awarded funding as part of the Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund established by Transport Scotland, from cash awarded under European Regional Development Fund 2014-20 programme and Transport Scotland.
Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: “Dundee has been recognised as leading by example on infrastructure and electric vehicle investment and that will continue.
“Ensuring that the infrastructure improvements continue to meet the needs of the population but also take into account the massive growth in electric vehicle ownership is vital.
“That is why this new EV charging hub is another important milestone.”
Scottish Government Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “It is fantastic to see more charge points in Dundee through the Greenmarket Electric Vehicle Hub, building on the same innovation shown at the other hub projects across Dundee and demonstrating the strength of ambition the city has.”