Dundee, which prides itself on being a future-thinking city, has unveiled its fourth rapid electric car charging hub to support the move away from petrol and diesel. The new EV Charging Oasis was opened last week, with experts praising the accessibility of the station and the added features on offer for drivers.
A total of five charging points are available for electric car owners to use, with four rapid 50kW chargers and one 150kW ultra-rapid charger.
Solar panels on the canopy power the charging points, as well as recycled lithium batteries from old electric vehicles.
The charging station is located in the city centre, with Dundee City Council intending to gradually introduce more ultra-rapid chargers around the city.
All bollards, kerbs and plinths have been removed, enabling level access to charge points from the bays, with large hatching areas around each bay.
READ MORE:Â Drivers can claim hundreds of pounds back for pothole damage – advice
It was designed to offer accessible charging for wheelchair users, with the Charging Oasis being a short distance to local facilities.
Philip Russell, managing director of Bluewater, hailed the world’s first use of such technology, adding that it was exciting for his company and Dundee.
As part of the new charging station, a new state-of-the-art drinking water system has also been installed, which is believed to be a world first.
It uses the canopy roof over the chargers to capture rainwater which is filtered into a purifying machine and powered by the solar panels.
“It shouldn’t just be free of internal combustion [engine] vehicles, it should also be free of single-use plastics for human hydration.”
According to Zap-Map data, there were more than 40,000 EV charging points across the UK at the end of March 2023, across 23,902 locations.
This represented a 35 percent increase in the total number of charging devices since March 2022.
Another charging station will soon be opened in the area to support depot vehicles from Dundee City Council.
This will contain 24 chargers to power over 200 vehicles, with the site having the same features as the Charging Oasis, including solar canopies.
Dundee City Council already has 175 EVs in their fleet, the most of any UK local authority, with plans to further expand numbers.
Even TV presenter Lorraine Kelly praised the city for its quick adoption of electric cars, with the talk show host having a Nissan Leaf EV.
She said: “The forward-thinking city council are at the forefront of the whole electric car revolution.”
Recently, a newly-formed conglomerate of 18 of the biggest charge point operators came together to pledge £6billion to double the size of the EV network.
ChargeUK said it will work with Government and other key stakeholders to ensure the electric revolution continues and gains pace.
