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South Africa’s first off-grid electric vehicle charging network offers drivers a low-carbon option for recharging their cars while also providing farmers that host the stations a new income stream.
The context: Owing to its heavy reliance on coal, South Africa has one of the most carbon-intensive electricity systems in the world. This means EVs that draw power from the grid offer no real climate benefits – at least for the time being.
Meanwhile, farmers in the arid country have to contend with frequent droughts that threaten their yields and sales. Non-agricultural revenues are therefore one way to make their incomes more predictable and resilient.
The latest: Zero Carbon Charge is installing a network of fast-chargers powered by ground-mounted solar panels and battery storage systems. The stations, which are being built around 150 kilometres apart on national roads, include refreshment facilities and restrooms.
They’ll help to encourage a shift to EVs in a country that currently has little in the way of charging infrastructure.
And the off-grid model means no extra load is added to the national grid, which has struggled with rolling blackouts since power demand overtook supply in 2007.
How it works: Participating farmers lease portions of their land to Zero Carbon Charge and its partners. It’s expected that some farmers and developers will agree on a mixed land-use model – for instance, where crops are grown under the solar panels.
Landowners will also earn 5% of the revenue generated by the EV chargers on their land, the company says.
Zero Carbon Charge commissioned its first EV charging station in late 2024.
“We believe that the rollout of our off-grid charging stations across the country will serve as a crucial catalyst for EV migration in South Africa,” says Joubert Roux, Zero Carbon Charge’s chairman.
