The construction on UK’s first electric forecourt has started!

MARCH 2020​

With the ever-growing popularity of electric vehicles rising – ‘’Gridserve’’ has set its plan for building a nationwide network of over 100 Electric forecourts.

The first site is currently under construction and will be completed this coming summer – offering ultra-fast, low-cost charging with additional customer support.

‘’The electric forecourt’’ in Essex will be able to charge 23 cars at once (with superchargers supporting up to 350kW of power with future plans of installing 20-30 minute fast-charge docks, as the new battery technologies mature and become more available on the market)

What’s even better – the network is planned to be powered by solar energy and special battery storage to ensure low-emission targets, whilst keeping the prices at the low.

Additionally, whilst the vehicles will be charging, car owners will have facilities including a coffee shop, supermarket and airport style lounge with Wi-Fi and meeting rooms.

With a budget of £1bn ‘’Gridserve’’ is developing these ‘’Electric Forecourts’’ sites on busy routes and near to towns, cities and major transport hubs.

‘’Gridserve’’ Chief Executive Toddington Harper said: “Many more people want to buy electric vehicles but are worried about how to charge them. We will help solve that challenge and deliver the confidence needed to make the switch to electric transport.''

Construction on the first Electric Forecourt on a 2.5 acre site adjacent to Great Notley, just off the A131, is supported by a £4.86 million grant from Innovate UK, one of the largest grants awarded last year. The site has links to Stansted Airport, Chelmsford, Colchester and the M11.

The company recently completed the UK’s most advanced solar farm, a 34.7MWp project at York with bifacial panels, sun trackers, and a 30MWh battery (https://youtu.be/jtkNKJBpVAg), and is completing a 25.7MWp project at Hull using similar technologies.

Certainly it will be interesting to see how these and other electric forecourts develop in the near future – particularly on such a large scale.

- Your Premier Team