Spain's first ultra-fast renewable charging station launches

Spain’s first ultra-fast charging station powered by photovoltaic solar energy has begun operating in the town of Estepona, Malaga

The Malaga town of Estepona has put its name on the map of electric vehicles and renewable energy following the announcement by the Andalusian Energy Agency of the entry into operation of Spain’s first ultra-fast charging station powered by photovoltaic solar energy. The installation, launched thanks to the Easycharger group, has two ninety-kilowatt points (expandable to 180 kW) and a pergola with photovoltaic panels that will supply 21,153 kilowatts of renewable energy per year.

On the other hand, the launch of this energy milestone has been encouraged with a budget of €360,000, 75% of the total investment, by the Junta de Andalucía, an entity attached to the Ministries of the Presidency, Public Administration and the Interior; and the Treasury and European Funding, within the Program for the Sustainable Energy Development of Andalusia, co-financed with FEDER funds. Thus, this charging point will allow, with just a 15-minute recharge, the user’s electric vehicle in question to travel an approximate distance of 160 kilometers. The service is located at a Galp service station in the aforementioned Andalusian town.

The inauguration took place on April 15 and was led by the managing director of the Andalusian Energy Agency, Francisco Javier Ramírez, who declared the importance of this type of facility, whose operation is based on the use of clean energy, to “reduce the gap between the demand for electric vehicles and the provision of publicly accessible infrastructure”; an objective that public plans such as Moves try to cover. In addition, Laura Serrano, Director of Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure at Nissan, was present during the inauguration. Ignacio de Prada, from the Multienergy and Mobility department at Galp in Spain and Daniel Pérez, CEO of Easycharger.

Regarding the sustainable mobility incentive programs currently in operation, Francisco Javier Ramírez commented that MOVES II, with a budget of 17 million euros, “allows for the purchase of alternative energy vehicles, the installation of charging infrastructure and bicycle loan systems. It also promotes sustainable mobility initiatives. And within 3 months, we will publish the Andalusian call to launch MOVES III, the regulatory bases of which were published just yesterday by the Ministry.”