Earlier in the month we powered on the
Greenstage charging station for the first time (this is the 3rd one in NZ according to
APEV). This provides charging via a variety of connectors and should cater for any Electric Vehicle in the country. A vehicle that can connect to a standard New Zealand 10 Amp 240V socket, a 16 Amp EN 60309 2P+E socket (commonly used in motor homes and camping grounds) or a 32 Amp J1772 connector will be able to use the Greenstage charging station.
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| Greenstage charging station |
The charging stations can also be connected to the
SolarNetwork. This allows charge station owners to control and monitor usage. For example, if it's installed in a public place, it's possible to configure the station to require an EV owner to login to the SolarNetwork and optionally provide payment before charging begins. This hopefully encourages more people to make their own charging infrastructure public and allows the charge station owner to be remunerated for the service they are providing and the electricity consumed during the charge. If 50% of EV owners make their charging infrastructure public, it would be a quick way to create a nation wide network!
Currently Greenstage's Auckland based charging station is free and available for friendly EV'ers to drop in any time. It is located at
19 Newton Rd in the city if you want to check it out and top your EV up.
If you are planning on popping in, please let us know. We would love to hear any thoughts or feedback on your experience (send it in via
email, or comment below). As a bonus, if you charge while the sun is shining, your car will receive solar generated electricity from the rooftop PV array :)
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PV on the roof!
(PHOTO: Tony Nyberg, courtesy Idealog) |
Big thanks to Smart Sparky,
Electrex and
JuicePoint (the suppliers of the J1772 charging equipment) for making this happen.
--Philip
