Broxden Low Carbon Transport Hub

The Broxden Low Carbon Transport Hub project aim is to provide an innovative and sustainable EV charging hub at the Broxden Park & Ride site that will utilise on-site generated renewable energy (Solar) and provide a variety of EV charging speeds to meet the diverse EV usage patterns of electric vehicle owners. The project aims to support the transition of road transport from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives to help lower carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Project Summary

The Broxden Low Carbon Transport Hub Project will create an innovative, low carbon transport hub at a key, strategically important site and central node on the Scottish motorway network, at Broxden. The intention of the project is to broaden the range of refuelling facilities and transport modes available and to provide sustainable travel options to local residents, businesses and visitors to the region. 

The project includes the expansion of existing electric vehicle charge points, including the first disabled / mobility impaired EV charger access in the area. There will be a range of EV charging speeds to accommodate a variety of EV usage patterns.

Solar canopies, integrated with a battery storage system to hold on-site generated renewable energy, will be developed to provide sustainable support for the EV charging stations. To encourage active travel, Broxden Park & Ride will host new secure bike storage facilities and a public transport information display. To improve integration between different modes of private and public transport and promote a modal shift from car to low carbon and public transport and active travel options. It will contribute to the provision of an integrated, effective, efficient and low carbon transport system for Perth City and the wider region.

The Broxden Low Carbon Transport Hub project at Broxden Park & Ride will deploy:

• 6 x Rapid EV chargers (50kW)
• 1 x Disabled access Rapid EV charger (50kW)
• 8 x 7kW EV chargers (longer stay EV chargers to encourage users to leave their vehicles outside the city and use active travel or public transport to continue or complete their journeys)
• 2 x E-Bike chargers
• Solar Array – to sustainably support the EV charging stations.
• Battery System – to hold on-site generated renewable energy, off-peak grid energy and support the EV charging stations.
• Smart Energy Management system to manage and coordinated energy usage across the site in support of the EV charging stations.

The above supports the existing EV chargers at Broxden Park & Ride of:

• 3 x 22kW EV Chargers
• 1 x Rapid EV Charger

Project Background

The Scottish Government targets to remove the need for fossil fuelled transport by 2030 will require a large expansion of the take up of electric vehicles. The expansion of EV charging infrastructure to meet this growth will place an increasing strain on an already old and often constrained national grid. The cost of the grid re-enforcement work required to accommodate this growth in EV’s has been estimated in the hundreds of millions for Scotland alone.

There is a need to meet the predicted growth in EV’s in a sustainable way. The essence of this project provides a potential means to do this by combining on-site generation of renewable energy and battery storage to sustainably support and efficiently manage the energy flows required. The Broxden-Low Carbon Transport Hub Project has the potential to provide a model of sustainable EV charging hubs and an energy management system that can sustainably support EV charging infrastructure and reduce total energy costs and carbon emissions.

This Perth & Kinross Council project is funded through the European Regional Development Fund and the Tay Cities Deal.