Environmentally-conscious residents will soon get a charge out of Camana Bay as the Town Centre’s two public electric vehicle charging stations near completion.

Powered by five kilowatts of solar panels fitted atop the Forum Lane Parking Garage, the stations are set to open early November and are two of fourteen public charging facilities planned for Grand Cayman. Part of a larger push by Cayman Automotive, the island’s first all-electric car dealership, other locations under construction include Cayman Automotive in George Town and the Cayman Motor Museum in West Bay. The charging stations will make driving less stressful for electric vehicle owners who are known to suffer from “range anxiety”; the fear of running out of electricity on the road. In addition, solar power charging stations generate electricity using pollution-free solar cells, which not only reduce carbon emissions to zero but will help to make the Cayman Islands a cleaner and greener place.

Electric vehicle owners will be able to charge their cars for free at the public charging stations at Camana Bay. Electric vehicle-designated parking spaces will be located outside the Camana Bay Security Centre, situated next to Mail Boxes Etc. on Forum Lane. “The plug-in stations will be accessible 24 hours a day and are compatible with all electric car models available on-island,” explained Chip Ogilvie, Senior Manager Operations & Maintenance at Camana Bay. Currently this includes Wheego Life, AMP Mercedes MLe, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Tazzari Zero, Think City and BYD e6.

“The station will be a welcome addition to the Town Centre,” said Ogilvie. “In addition to public-use, the station will service the Town Centre’s security vehicles as part of our continuous effort to incorporate sustainable design and practices into Camana Bay daily life. We are now researching additional uses for solar power, with a goal to significantly reduce Camana Bay’s carbon footprint.”

Many of Camana Bay’s other efforts are also aimed at energy efficiency. Camana Bay recently completed its third commercial office building, 94 Solaris Avenue, in record time to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) standards, and to reduce non-renewable energy consumption, buildings in the Town Centre are oriented to capture prevailing easterly breezes and solar shading is provided through roof hangings, balconies and shading devices. Incandescent lighting is also being phased out where possible and replaced with more efficient lighting.

Other sustainable practices include regular recycling and composting. Used glass is collected from Camana Bay’s restaurants, office tenants, residents and the public glass and aluminium recycling station, located across from the Market Street Pavilion on Forum Lane, and taken to Camana Bay’s glass pulverizer where it is crushed and prepared for reuse.

Camana Bay has also switched to using water bottles made from biodegradable corn plastic, which are collected and taken to the Camana Bay Arboretum, together with food waste collected from residential and commercial tenants – and in particular, the Town Centre’s four restaurants – and composted into this natural, nutrient-rich resource.

Finally, “being green” is moving from the fringes to the mainstream – and Camana Bay is making it easier to go green, whether you live, work, dine or play in the Town Centre.

For more information on Camana Bay’s electric vehicle charging station, please contact The Discovery

Centre at 345.640.4000 or [email protected].