All Makro stores to have electric car charging stations with 100% renewable energy

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.

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.

Makro is mainly a wholesale chain for supplying hotels, bars, cafés and restaurants, but is often used by the general public for bulk purchases.

Iberdrola, whose chairman is Ignacio Sánchez Galán, has launched a €150 million 'sustainable mobility' scheme which will enable it to set up 150,000 car-charging points – not just on town and city streets, but also at company buildings for staff and customers, and even private homes. 

This will see the network of electric car refuelling stations rise exponentially: At present, Iberdrola operates just over 2,500 nationwide.

All of these are supplied by 100% renewable energy sources, removing any doubt that would-be electric car owners may have that polluting petrol and diesel is just being replaced by equally-polluting electricity.

Two of the main barriers to 'going electric' for those considering buying a new car are the sale price of these, and concern about availability of charging points when they are needed.

The latter is something Iberdrola and other suppliers are gradually addressing, and the former is likely to resolve itself over time as these vehicles become more mainstream.