A total of 8,000 public charging points for electric cars have been installed in Brabant and Limburg over the past three years. The provinces are therefore well ahead of schedule, because they had been allocated until July 2024. So it’s going like clockwork. Brabant now has 11,000 public charging stations, four times as many as three years ago, and many more will be added in the coming years. Outside the Randstad, the number of charging points is growing nowhere as quickly as in Brabant.
Energy company Vattenfall installed the 8,000th new charging point in Sint Oedenrode on Wednesday. Deputy Jos van der Horst (SP) is satisfied: “It is good news for Brabant.”
One charging station per five cars
There is now one public charging station for every five electric cars. Most new charging points were installed over the past three years in:
- Den Bosch (586)
- Oss (280)
- Oosterhout (260)
- Roosendaal (260)
- Meierijstad (234)
Alied Wessels Boer from Vattenfall explains why things are moving so quickly. “First there were poles where there were many electric cars. Now we use a data model to map out where the number of electric cars is increasing and will continue to increase. This allows us to see in advance where the poles should be placed.”
Scarce installers
According to her, there are more advantages to better mapping the charging needs per municipality. “Installers are scarce, now we can plan the installation of the charging stations far in advance.” Brabant and Limburg are the first provinces to look ahead to installing charging stations on such a large scale.
“Public charging stations fall under small-scale consumer connections,” says a spokesperson for network operator Enexis. This is already taken into account in municipal plans. “But we notice that the low-voltage grid is starting to fill up. We are working hard to expand and strengthen the electricity grid, but if necessary, the loading capacity of the poles can be reduced.” At peak times, less power comes from the cable and it therefore takes longer before the car is full.
Alied Wessels Boer: “Reducing power is just one of the options. We are happy to think about new and innovative solutions. For example, to make it more attractive for users to charge at other times.”
Car as battery
Vattenfall is also working on something new: Vehicle2Grid. The charging stations are being prepared to supply electricity from the car back to the electricity grid via the charging station in the future. The car as a battery. “A car stands still for most of the day. You can charge it when electricity is cheap and supply electricity back in the evening to run the dishwasher, for example.”
Provincial administrator Jos van der Horst is proud that Brabant has made the leap forward. “Almost all municipalities want to cooperate to accelerate even further. It is not only good for electric drivers but for every Brabander. We are working hard to reduce nitrogen emissions with our Clean Air Agreement. Electric driving makes a significant contribution to this.”