Driving on sunshine

The Stavanger region might not be blessed with sunshine every day, but Rogaland Taxi has found a way to make every ray count. By investing in solar panels, battery storage, and ultra-fast chargers, the company has transformed its operations and taken a big step toward its goal of climate neutrality by 2030.

Published : 9/25/2025

Rogaland Taxi is a service company for the taxi industry in the Stavanger-region, with its main dispatch centre located at Forus. The fleet consists of 300 vehicles, 85 percent of which are now electric. At the same time, Rogaland Taxi signed Stavanger Municipality’s pledge to become climate neutral by 2030, as part of the Mission Cities project, which includes 112 European cities.

The starting point for this impressive transition came with the rise in electricity prices in 2020. The company initiated several measures to cut energy costs, but the real game-changer was the investment in solar panels, developed in collaboration with the local company Kverneland Energi. Shortly after they installed a large container housing its own battery bank, which stores self-produced solar energy and delivers it directly to ultra-fast chargers.

A demanding energy need

A taxi’s mileage is far greater than that of a private car. While a typical car drives around 20,000 kilometers a year, a taxi can drive up to 100 000. In 2021, the company decided that all new cars would be electric. Most of the trips are short-distance travel between Stavanger, Sandnes, and Sola. The energy demand is substantial.

Rogaland Taxi combine solar power and battery technology

Diesel consumption has been reduced from 40,000 litres per week to 8,000 litres. At Forus, there are four ultra-fast chargers and several others connected to the solar and battery system, while a new charging facility at Våland, which opened earlier this year, has ten ultra-fast chargers, and will produce 1.5 million kilowatt-hours annually.

“This gives us the ability to draw power when we need it”, explains CEO Svein Svimbil. “We want to help Stavanger Municipality reach its climate goals.”

An inspiring transformation

For Svimbil, who has worked at Rogaland Taxi for 17 years, the transformation has been both exciting and educational. “Combining solar panels and battery technology to power ultra-fast chargers is something few have done before. The fact that other taxi companies now visit us to see what we’ve achieved shows that we can inspire others,” he says.

The story of Rogaland Taxi is an example of how a local player can take action that results environmental benefits.

The Stavanger Taxi group is the owner of the project through its subsidiary Rogaland Taxi.