CASH-AND-CARRY-STYLE retail giant Makro has teamed up with national electricity board Iberdrola to set up 280 car-charging stations throughout Spain.
In a bid to encourage the electrically-powered vehicle market, every single Makro store, as well as the company's head offices in Madrid, will have a charging station – a total of 37 locations nationwide.
Electric car charging stations are now open at Makro stores in Catalunya, Castellón, Córdoba and Valladolid, and soon to go live in Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Granada and Pamplona (photo: Makro.es)
The deal was signed last year, but is only now starting to go live – already, electric car refuelling points have opened at Makro branches in Castellón, Tarragona, Barcelona, Córdoba and Valladolid.
In the next week or so, more are expected to open at the Makro stores in Palma de Mallorca, Granada, Valencia-Albuixech, and Pamplona (Navarra).
All electricity supplied through the charging stations will be from renewable sources, mostly solar and partly wind power, and this can be verified through a kitemark displayed at the station for those car-owners who want to be sure.
Iberdrola's mobile phone App, Recarga Pública Iberdrola, details all charging stations in Spain – including those run by other electricity suppliers – allowing drivers to locate their nearest or those on their planned route via a GPS pin, check in real time whether they are currently occupied, and pay for their use before they get there.
Part of the Makro-Iberdrola deal has included replacing the former's electricity supply with 100% renewable energy – solar panels of six megawatts (6mW) – in 10 of its stores.
An ‘early’ electric car charging point, set up in Oliva (southern Valencia province) in summer 2017. Nowadays they tend to be much larger, with capacity for several cars, and faster. Iberdrola plans to roll out over 150,000 of them nationwide - currently, the electricity board only operates about 2,500
Makro is mainly a wholesale chain for supplying hotels, bars, cafés and restaurants, but is often used by the general public for bulk purchases.
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