Raigmore Hospital in Inverness has installed NHS Scotland’s first solar electric vehicle (EV) charging hub.
The solar car park (SCP) said to be the “first of its kind to be operational in Scotland,” is dubbed Papilio3 and was installed by the EV chargepoint operator 3ti. It is made out of a recycled shipping container containing 12 chargepoints able to fast charge up to 12 EVs simultaneously at 7kW, 11kW or 22kW.
Papilo3 will use solar from an existing array with a total capacity of 19.32kWp, generating an average of 18MWh of electricity annually. This will be integrated with “existing local power” to power the 12 chargers.
The charging station also includes a pre-fitted back-office billion system to simplify paying for charging, as well as a water-tight canopy, energy saving motion sensors to automatically operate the lights when a driver approaches as well as CCTV.
3ti added that the ‘pop-up’ function of the hub, meaning it can be installed in less than eight hours, makes it a “perfect solution for one of the most Northern located hospitals in the UK.”
Brian Johnstone, head of energy, environment and sustainability at NHS Highland said the hub will mean the hospital is “now in better positioned to support patients, staff and visitors with EVs”.
This is not the first hospital to welcome a SCP; in November last year, 3ti installed a 1.1MWp SCP at Eastbourne District General Hospital.
