In London, cars can be plugged into charging points built into public streetlights. Photo: Shutterstock

In London, cars can be plugged into charging points built into public streetlights. Photo: Shutterstock

In Paris, London, Dortmund, and in other European cities, municipalities have taken advantage of street lighting renovation to integrate charging points into them but the idea is not necessarily bright. 

MEPs Gusty Graas (DP) and Max Hahn (DP) asked mobility minister François BauschMinister (Déi Gréng) whether this concept could be applied in Luxembourg.

In his answer, Bausch described the idea as an “interesting option” insofar as combining street lighting and a charging station can reduce installation costs and the impact on public space. “The ministries are already aware of the principle of these installations and were also in contact with manufacturers in order to better understand the technical specifics,” highlighted Bausch before tempering the optimism of the two MPs.

Such an installation requires certain conditions. For example, the lamp posts must be close enough to the roadside so that charging cables do not interfere with the public space. The lamp posts also have an electrical installation tailored to the needs of public lighting and not to the needs of electric recharging. A Chargy electric charging station requires 22kW for example. “In conclusion, this is an interesting but ambitious project, and in some cases it would be necessary to replace the power supply system and implement special, adapted street lamps,” the minister warned in his response.

François Bausch does not rule out the solution, however, and considers that it could be interesting for urban residential areas. “Such installations allow residents to charge their electric cars at night, for example. In this case, the charging power is less detrimental. This approach can therefore be particularly interesting in streets where street lighting is to be redone--provided that the above mentioned conditions are considered--and it could be an interesting element in the electric mobility strategy of certain municipalities,” said the minister.

As a reminder, Luxembourg has favoured the installation of charging stations in public car parks with 700 Chargy stations operational in the grand duchy, i.e. 1,400 charging stations. 88 ultra-fast charging stations will be installed throughout the country this year.

The government also supports financially households and companies that have decided to install a charging station at their premises.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.