Planning granted for EV charging hub in Mullingar

SSE Airtricity has been granted planning permission for a new EV charging hub in Lough Sheever Corporate Park.

The charging hub, which will be the first link in a new €35m nationwide network being developed by SSE Airtricity, will have five EV charging stations and three canopies, which will have solar panels on top. It will be publicly accessible and designed to accommodate long-wheelbase vehicles and buses, as well as cars and fleet vehicles.

SSE Airtricity says that all of the hubs in the network will be powered by 100% green electricity.

Speaking last November when the firm's plans were first announced, Kevin Welstead, EV director at SSE, said: “From our network in the UK, we understand that when it comes to charging, people just want to be back on the move in the shortest time possible.

“We’re delighted to launch our first EV charging hubs in Ireland. In building this infrastructure, we want to ensure peace of mind for EV drivers – domestic, car fleet, commercial – that when they show up at one of our facilities, they can plug in to a working, high power charger as soon as they arrive, and that they can be back on the move as soon as possible.”

His SSE Airtricity colleague, Klair Neenan, MDirector, said: “SSE Airtricity has a long-standing commitment of delivering green energy and green energy solutions to our customers, and we’re delighted to take that a step further with the announcement of the SSE Airtricity EV charging hubs.”

It is expected that the EV hub in Lough Sheever will be opened before the end of the year.