Vital EV Solutions and AWEnergy have opened an EV charging station which uses power from the nearby Checkley Wood onshore wind turbine, via direct wire technology.
The facility, located adjacent to the A5 trunk road between Dunstable and Milton Keynes, is equipped with 14 high-speed Kempower charging points specified by Vital EV, and has a 900kW total charging capacity, which can be expanded to 1.6MW.
It is powered by the 4.1MW onshore wind turbine, which began generating electricity in January 2024.
Capable of delivering up to 300kW of power to a single connector, it can be used by the public and features dedicated areas for buses and heavy goods vehicles.
With 56-metre-long blades and a total rotor diameter of 115 metres, this turbine has the capacity to produce more than 10,150,000 kWh per year.
This is ample to fulfil the annual electricity requirements of more than 2,800 homes or facilitate over 225,000 electric vehicle rapid charges annually.
Alex Rae, Managing Director of Vital EV Solutions, said, “When AWEnergy approached us to provide them with a consultative approach to helping them design the solution to satisfy their requirements, we were delighted to work on the project which I believe is a fantastic innovation in the EV charging sector with the direct wire technology from the turbine.
“Vital EV have worked closely with AWEnergy to bring this sustainable EV charging hub online to serve the customers at the Checkley Wood site, and will continue to support the operations onsite with a comprehensive support and maintenance service.”
John Fairlie, the Managing Director of AWRenewables, said, “The introduction of the UK’s inaugural electric vehicle charging station, harnessing on-site wind energy, represents a pivotal moment for both the renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors.”
The problem with public EV charging points is that they are far too expensive which is part of the reason why the car EV market has collapsed; the other part is the low resale value of an EV. The cost of charging at a public charging point is partly due to the very high price of grid electricity arising from the out dated price that depends on the twice daily spot price of gas; the other part is the high profits taken by the charging point operators. The solution is to power EV charging points directly with the source of the fossil-free electricity, in this case wind power which is to be applauded; good for you Vital EV . The same solution should be applied to the production of fuel cell grade hydrogen which is presently mainly produced from electrolysers connected to the Grid that requires subsidies. What is the price that Vital EV will be charging for electricity?