Fifty pole mounted electric vehicle chargers are now being rolled out on local streets across Sydney and the Hunter regions of NSW, under the Intellihub EV Streetside Charging project.
The 22 kilowatt chargers are being installed on power poles and connected directly to the overhead electricity network, with energy use being matched with 100 percent accredited GreenPower.
The project is being supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency through its Advancing Renewables Program.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen today officially powered up the first of the EV chargers to hit the streets in the busy inner Sydney suburb of Wolli Creek.
The chargers have also gone live in Lane Cove and St Leonards in Syndey’s North and at Maroubra, Coogee and North Bondi in Sydney’s east.
An additional 41 EV chargers will now be installed in local streets across Sydney’s St George, Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches regions, and the Lake Macquarie and Singleton regions in the Hunter Valley.
The chargers will progressively come online by the end of the year.
The chargers will connect to the Ausgrid electricity network and Origin Energy is providing 100% accredited GreenPower for the project.
Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine said new public charging solutions were required to support the rapid uptake of electric vehicles across the country.
“Around nine percent of all new car sales in Australia are now electric vehicles, and in some areas of Sydney the rates of EV adoption are double the national average,” Mr Ballantine said.
“By 2030, most experts expect that there will be more than one million electric vehicles on Australian roads.
“Power poles line most streets and that presents an enormous opportunity for local communities that will need a range of public charging solutions.
“They’re an accessible, safe, and practical option for EV charging.”
Areas with high density housing, sports are recreational facilities, local shopping centres or transport precincts have been prioritised for the roll out.
Local councils have also conducted extensive community engagement to help guide the best locations from a community perspective.
“About one in four Australian households don’t have access to off street parking, so these sorts of public charging solutions are a real necessity.
“EV drivers will be able to book a charging session, and then simply drive up, park and charge.
“A two hour charging session will typically provide enough charge for around 200 kilometres of driving.”
The EV chargers will be managed via the popular Exploren platform, which was developed by Australian EV software and hardware providers EVSE.
The Exploren platform supports about 500 public chargers across Sydney. It allows motorists to manage their charging sessions via a smartphone App.
The 22 kilowatt chargers have been supplied by Schneider Electric and have been enclosed in a durable and vandal resistant metal case.
The ARENA backed trial will help build a base of knowledge around regulatory and commercial barriers for public EV charging, as well as uptake by EV owners across different locations and incentives.
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