Groundbreaking Public EV Charging HUB Launched in Westside

Hub officially opened by Mayor Mike Cubbard and Minister Seán Canney 

Reduced Rates Available for City Residents with no Home Charging and Taxi Drivers/ Public Transport 

A groundbreaking pilot electric vehicle (EV) charging hub was launched in Westside today by the Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Mike Cubbard, and Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Seán Canney TD. The hub is the first solar-powered with battery and grid back-up public EV charging hub in Ireland.  As part of the pilot, city residents can avail of a reduced rate for AC car charging, where they have no driveways to charge at home. Taxi drivers and public transport operators can also avail of the discounted rates. This scheme is supported by Galway City Council, the Department of Transport, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI), and delivered in partnership with Electric Skyline, ePower, ARBARR and the ROBUST mobility hub. To use the EV Charging Hubs, download the app from www.ePower.ie. 

To avail of the reduced rate contact Galway City Council at 091 536400 or email CustomerService@GalwayCity.ie

Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Mike Cubbard commented, “I’m delighted to see reduced cost electric car charging being introduced in Westside – particularly for people living in apartments or with no driveways who would like to switch to an EV, but are concerned about where they could charge their vehicle, or the cost of commercial charging. Taxi drivers will also be invited to avail of a reduced rate for fast charging their vehicles, to support a transition to EV vehicles in the city. The six spaces are fully accessible so will cater to all mobility users, with significantly cheaper rates available for up to one hour of charging. This project is a key action in Galway City Council’s Climate Action Plan and will play a significant role in facilitating the move to electric vehicles in the city”. 

The new EV charging hub has 91 solar panels on the roof of Westside Community Centre, which feed into a 150kW/h battery. The battery uses an existing grid connection as back up, to ensure seamless operation of the EV chargers – with six EV charging stations available, split between Dual DC (‘fast charging’) and Dual AC (“medium charging”) units. The pilot is Galway City Council’s first step in providing much-needed car charging infrastructure for Galway City EV drivers and is located at the same site as the recently launched ROBUST project e-mobility hub, with ecars, ebikes and ecargo bikes available to book through the ESB EHubs E-Bike App. For more information on the app please see the ROBUST project webpage.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Sean Canney TD said; "I’m delighted to support the launch of the Westside EV Charging Pilot, on behalf of the Department of Transport and ZEVI. This is a smart and forward-thinking project that makes use of the building’s existing electricity supply, along with solar panels and battery storage, to deliver fast and reliable charging for electric vehicle users. It allows people charge with minimal impact on the local electricity grid and it creates a convenient neighbourhood charging option for people living nearby or working in the area who may not be able to charge at home. This is the first of several EV charging pilots the Department and ZEVI are supporting with local authorities in 2025. The approach is designed to be scalable and easily replicated right across the country and support other national initiatives led by ZEVI, including the Shared Island Sports Club scheme and national roads/motorway Schemes “

Colm Shaughnessy, Engineer, Galway City Council said, “This is an entirely unique pilot, where we are trying to provide a green carbon neutral solution for much needed EV charging infrastructure. The grid ‘back-up’ uses the existing connection in Westside Boxing Club to provide additional power to the battery in the event of over usage of the EV chargers or in winter months when the solar gain is low. This particular solution has never been tried before - Galway City Council is the first public body to provide EV infrastructure exploring solar and battery technology to power electric vehicles. Findings from this pilot will provide much need learnings to allow other local authorities and private EV suppliers provide much needed EV charging without the requirement for large on-grid connections. In particular this set-up could be the ideal solution for rural locations where the on-grid capacity is not available for high powered EV charging infrastructure. Other potential applications of this system include powering supermarket fridges, or leisure centre pools for example – so the learnings of this pilot could have significant impacts in the switch to more sustainable power options.”

Electric Skyline – Commercial Director, Bryan Fox said;“This project marks a turning point in how we think about EV charging infrastructure in Ireland. By combining solar energy with smart battery storage, we’ve delivered a scalable, cost-effective system that works within existing grid limitations. It’s efficient, sustainable, and future-ready, and we’re proud to be part of the team that brought this innovation to Galway.”

ARBARR - James McCorley, Founder and Managing Director said; “Arbarr-ESS has partnered with Galway City Council and Electric Skyline to launch Ireland’s first fully off-grid Rapid DC EV Charging hub at Westside Community Centre. Powered by renewable energy and battery storage, the system avoids connection upgrades, reduces energy costs, cuts carbon and keeps power running during outages. With over 25 years of experience, Arbarr continues to help councils, businesses, and rural communities transition to clean, affordable energy that works.”

Scheme Details:

Rates for charging are as follows:

City Residents with no driveway can avail of a further reduced rate of €0.20 cent per minute for charging. Proof of address is required. 

Taxi Drivers operating in Galway City can avail of a reduced rate of €0.52 cent per minute for DC charging. Terms and conditions apply. Valid Taxi plate licence is required.

Any Member of the Public can avail of a rate of €0.60 cent per minute for charging on DC and €0.52 cent per minute on the AC.  

Universal Design: The six spaces are the first fully universal design to meet all users needs.  

Charging Duration: ‘Overstays’ are discouraged, with pricing increasing after 60 minutes on the DC charging stations, and 14 hours on the AC charging stations, see below:

Charging capacity – Dual DC 60kW chargers and Dual AC 22kW chargers available to public. Dual AC 22kW chargers are available for the ROBUST project car sharing club at the same site in Westside. 

Sign up for the EV Charging Hub by downloading the app at www.ePower.ie or contact Galway City Council at 091 536400 or CustomerService@GalwayCity.ie for more details.