Motorway service area operator Roadchef is to benefit from the installation of around 650 fast chargepoints across most of its sites to support the growing number motorists adopting electric vehicles.
The umbrella company of Roadchef, Australian-headquartered financial services group Macquarie, has made the announcement as part of a wider £20 billion package of planned investment in the UK’s infrastructure. This will include the building of the UK’s first reservoir in 30 years, new offshore wind developments and the country’s largest new solar project.
The EV charging facilities will be partly powered by 9 MW of new solar energy capacity installed on-site. Roadchef will also pilot charging solutions for heavy goods vehicles at two key locations across the motorway network, and introduce 100 additional parking bays for electric trucks.
There are already charging stations at Roadchef, however some are getting on in age. In April it was operating 70 high-power, over 40 medium-power and 24 standalone AC chargers across 30 sites, which it said at the time it was upgrading and expanding.
Shemara Wikramanayake, managing director and chief executive of Macquarie Group, says the upgrade of Roadchef sites is its latest in a long line of investments in UK infrastructure, with plans to invest more.
”We believe that infrastructure investment helps create strong foundations for economic growth, job creation, better services for the public and stronger communities. We are fully invested in the UK’s success and look forward to playing our part in delivering the investment the country needs,” adds Wikramanayake.
