Combining an electric vehicle charging station with a wind turbine? The concept is controversial to say the least. Most operators specializing in the installation of terminals consider the idea clever from a marketing point of view, but unrealistic. “Technically problematic and economically off the mark”to use the expression of one of them.
Kallista Energy (84 million euros in turnover in 2021), an energy company specializing in the production of renewable electricity with thirty-six wind and solar farms installed in Europe, has chosen this path. Within five years, the company, owned by the investment fund Ardian and the Dutch pension fund APG, plans to install ninety ultra-fast charging stations across France, including ” the majority “ will be directly connected to a wind turbine installed nearby. According to its leaders, a 5 megawatt model is sufficient.
“A Way of the Cross”
On September 22, Kallista Energy inaugurated a pilot station in Vernon-Douains (Eure), along the A13 motorway linking Paris to Normandy. In the absence of a wind turbine here – the proximity of the Evreux air base 105 prohibits the installation of one – the energy company flatters itself with commissioning “the most powerful bollards in France”. These are capable of delivering 360 kilowatts, a power which in theory makes it possible to acquire 100 kilometers of autonomy in three minutes but which no electric model in circulation is able to absorb.
“With soaring prices, producing short-circuit renewable electricity takes on its full meaning” Frédéric Roche, President of Kallista
They can also and above all accommodate four vehicles simultaneously, but with a unit power of 90 kilowatts. Each terminal, with a unit value of some 70,000 euros, obtained a subsidy of 18,000 euros from the public program Advenir. Eventually, the stations will be able to have up to forty-eight terminals and, when the wind takes a break – about 20% of the time, but no more, according to Kallista – they will be connected to the network or to a storage battery installed on the site.
“With soaring electricity prices, producing short-circuit renewable energy takes on its full meaning. This makes it possible to count on a fixed cost: today, the megawatt hour reaches 1,000 euros, but our wind turbines are profitable at 70 euros, a price that would allow you to recharge your car battery for 15 to 20 euros”, pleads Frédéric Roche, president of Kallista. In total, the investment corresponding to this project represents 1 billion euros “with a profitability calculation over thirty years”.
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