CHENNAI: E-vehicle owners will soon get more charging stations one at the Secretariat and another at the DPI campus in Nungambakkam. What will set them apart is that they are completely solar powered and would be set up by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) as model plants.
A TEDA official said the charging stations should be functional by year-end and would be set up at 1 crore, funded by Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives (TANII), after the necessary orders are passed. The initiative aims to encourage private players to opt for solar power to set up charging stations in public places.
The two spots were identified because many government vehicles frequent these areas, apart from private vehicles.
“This is a one-of-a-kind facility on a par with international models set up in countries like Denmark, Germany, UAE and Asia Pacific region,” said the official.
In these proposed solar-powered charging stations with 100kW capacity, about 15 vehicles can be connected for charging at a time and stations would be built like a typical car shed with solar panels on the roof. “The panels would be connected to the grid, so that the vehicles can be charged anytime. The stations would have different types of charging guns such as CCS 2 and ChadeMo to make them usable for all types of e-vehicles. E-bikes and scooters too can be charged at these stations and both slow and fast chargers would be available for vehicles,” said the TEDA official.
In the city, eight Metro stations including at Nandanam, Anna Nagar East and Koyambedu have charging points for e-vehicles. TEDA has already set up a solar-powered charging point in front of the EVK Sampath building, where its office is located, in the DPI campus with 25kW capacity. It is the first and only solar-powered charging point set up in the state. The proposed charging station would be set up at a different spot in the same campus. In the Secretariat too, the spot has been identified, said TEDA officials.