Absolutely Photo voltaic-Powered Off-Grid EV Charging Station in South Africa

Pricey Editor, CleanTechnica

We at Zero Carbon Cost (CHARGE) imagine we achieved a world first by commissioning a inexperienced EV charging station fuelled solely by solar energy on the twenty eighth of November 2024 within the Northwest Province of South Africa.

It’s utterly off the South African nationwide grid (Eskom) and consists of an ultra-fast DC charger with three person terminals. Every person terminal has a 200 A and a liquid-cooled 500 A CCS2 connector and may cost an EV at as much as 240 kW. There’s small generator for back-up when our usually sunny skies flip gray for a number of days.

The photo voltaic array of 480 panels can generate a 280 kWp output which is saved in 550 kWh capability batteries.

The location is known as CHARGE Wolmaransstad; it encompasses a Deli referred to as Farm Aptitude and is located on the N12 nationwide freeway between the cities of Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad (about 290km from the capital Pretoria).

That is the primary of 120 stations we intend to roll out at 150km intervals on nationwide routes in 2025–26.

At current there’s a sluggish uptake of EVs in SA, however we imagine that should you construct it they may come. We’re extraordinarily pleased with this landmark we have now constructed.

However we may be misguided and filled with ourselves; if any of your CleanTechnica readers has or is aware of of anybody else who has established an analogous working venture we’d love to listen to from them.

Yours sincerely,
Tim Sandham
Info Supervisor, CHARGE