DUNDEE City Council opened their brand-new innovative EV charging hub centred around accessibility. This is their fourth rapid EV charging hub where inclusion is the key focus within the EV strategy to achieve sustainable change. Mark Flynn, City Development Convenor, opened the site.
Funding for this oasis came from ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles), Transport Scotland, and DCC. With the high expectations of this project, it was essential that Dundee City Council sought partnerships with SWARCO, Urban Foresight and Bluewater, each leading experts in their fields, to see it through to completion.
The development began in 2019 with the aim to design and install infrastructure based on the insight gained from existing charging infrastructure along with feedback received from drivers of the difficulties of using EV charge points. In addition to this knowledge that DCC had gathered, they also drew guidance from the BSI PAS 1899:2022 standard which was a valuable source during the planning stages. The targets of this hub aimed for an innovative design, with suitable parking bays, solar canopies, and a shared battery storage set up.
Some specific features that came from following advice from the BSI PAS 1899:2022 standard are:
- The delivery of access to EV charging in a busy, central location with wheelchair access to and from the site and within wheeling distance to local facilities.
- All bays are 2400mm by 5000mm with 1200mm hatching around each one.
- All bollards, kerbs and plinths have been removed, enabling level access to charge points from bays, as well as access to and from the site.
The chargers at this rapid charging hub consist of four rapid 50kW chargers and a 150kW ultra rapid charger for public use. DCC are intending to gradually introduce more 150kW chargers around the city in the future. There are also solar panels fixed to canopies which are positioned overhead and provide power to battery units on site which store this energy. These battery storage units contain 800kW of energy that can be consumed at the most suitable times, like when chargers are in regular use.
An exciting partnership on this project was with Bluewater who installed a state-of-the-art drinking water system on site, which was a world first. This utilises the canopy roof over the chargers to capture rainwater to then filter into the purifying machine, which is powered by energy produced by the solar panels. This releases fresh drinking water for the public to fill up their water bottles at the two filling stations situated beside the chargers.
Along with the public chargers, infrastructure is soon to be completed at this site on Clepington Road to support depot vehicles of DCC. This side of the site will hold 21 x 7kW chargers, 1 x 100kW charger, and 2 x 50kW chargers to power over 200 vehicles. As with the public side, solar canopies will also be positioned overhead. These will be higher in height to accommodate depot vans.
DCC are exceptionally proud of their achievements with this project and the steps taken to provide infrastructure which is as accessible as possible for users to ease the process of EV charging. It presents an insight into DCC’s future journey in EV charging.
