EV-charging energy sources

There are lots of benefits of the increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs). EVs do not produce tailpipe pollutant emissions nor direct CO2 emissions that come from fossil fuels. And EVs are quieter than regular cars because they do not have combustion engines and exhaust systems. Don’t you love those silent trips in your EV!?

So far the good news. Unfortunately, reduced carbon dioxide emissions could be partially neutralized by additional emissions. These emissions are caused by the increased amount of electricity needed to charge EVs and the use of fossil fuels in the production of this electricity. Currently, the energy mix in the EU is made up by five different sources:

Petroleum products (including crude oil) (36%), natural gas (21%), solid fossil fuels (15%), renewable energy (15%) and nuclear energy (13%).

Luckily, this mix is not applicable when you charge your EV at an Allego charging station. As the company is dedicated to use renewable energy sources.

Charging ‘Allego green’

More EVs on the road results in a significant reduction of emissions and an increase of clean air. However, this is only efficient if the energy used by an EV is produced by sustainable energy sources. It is for this reason that Allego is committed to contribute to a more sustainable environment by ensuring the energy provided by its charging stations is renewable.

One efficient approach is to connect charging stations to local green energy sources. Special attention goes out to green energy sources close to Allego’s charging locations. The guiding principle is “produce locally, consume locally”! Allego’s aim is to ensure that every kWh supplied by the charging stations is renewable and generated by local producers. On public charging stations located in the streets of municipalities, Allego makes sure that at least 20% of the energy supplied to the charging stations is generated by local green energy sources. This is ensured by a collaboration with green energy companies and the municipalities themselves.

Local green energy sources

A good example of this is the project together with Deventer Energie and Pure Energie, where 38 charging stations have been installed in the Municipality of Deventer and are supplied with locally generated green energy coming from Kloosterlanden Wind Park.

Certified energy

In all other cases, Allego ensures that the energy is certified by Guarantee of Origin Certificates (GOs), provided by energy companies. GOs are renewable energy tracking certificates. They are quite important documents, as they can be used to identify the type of generation that was used for a certain MWh of electricity. When 1 MWh of green electricity is produced, the producer receives 1 certificate. The certificate describes the attributes: the technology of production, which power plant the electricity comes from and other specifications. Allego makes sure that the Certificates used are coming from wind and solar farms within the same country as the charging location. Making sure to support the national sustainable energy generation.

Did you also know that the average total monthly consumption at our locations is equal to the monthly production of 12 large windmill turbines or 305,025 large solar panels? It is also interesting that if an average EU household was to consume this in a month, it will take 21,022 households to do so!

What the future holds

Looking ahead, Allego’s vision includes constantly looking for new ways to deliver green energy to as much as possible charging stations. Moreover, efforts will continue to be directed towards making sure charging is fast, affordable and sustainable. All of this can help EV-drivers contribute to a zero-emission future, taking us a big step closer to a sustainable world.

#KeepDrivingForward