The federal government is investing more than $850,000 in a $2 million infrastructure trial in New South Wales, with 50 electric car chargers to be installed on power poles within the state.
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A test of electric car infrastructure in New south Wales aims to provide access to chargers for electric vehicle owners without off-street parking.
The Federal Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has allocated $871,000 in funding to utility company Intellihub, with the aim of installing 50 electric car chargers on power poles on the streets of New South Wales.
The test will initially be rolled out in seven Sydney council areas: Waverley, Woollahra, Randwick, Ryde, Parramatta, Northern Beaches and Inner West, and two Newcastle/Hunter regional councils, Lake Macquarie and Singleton.
The $2.04 million Intellihub trial was designed to enable electric car owners without access to off-street parking to charge their vehicles using Australia’s existing infrastructure.
Schneider Electric will provide the electric car chargers, while the service will be managed by EVSE. Origin Energy is configured to supply renewable energy to the grid.
ARENA Executive Director Darren Miller believes the trial will play an important role in increasing the accessibility of public electric car chargers.
“Not all electric vehicle owners have the ability to charge their vehicle at home, so we’re excited to partner with Intellihub on this trial that uses street power poles, providing a great opportunity to combine car charging. electrical,” Mr. Miller said in a press release.
“We look forward to seeing the results of the Intellihub trial and look forward to seeing it implemented across Australia.”
According to the agency’s website, ARENA has provided $1.86 billion in grants to more than 600 renewable energy projects since 2012.
Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine added that the expected adoption of electric cars in Australia within the next two years will require more off-street charging solutions.
“Up to 10 per cent of new car sales in Australia are expected to be electric vehicles by 2025,” Ballantine said in a press release. “That equates to an additional 120,000 new electric cars on our local streets each year.
“It is likely that many of these car owners will not be able to charge their electric cars from home.
“Power poles line most of our public streets and that presents an opportunity for the electric car charging market. They are an accessible, safe and practical option for charging electric cars”.
As reported by Ride This week, two recent independent reports proposed petrol and diesel vehicles from Australian capitals, placing a higher level of importance on electric car adoption.
While the European Union is set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2035, with some concessions for synthetic fuel, Australia does not currently have a national target to phase out fossil fuel-powered cars.
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