The game-changing EV shift quietly taking over Australia's streets
A major energy supplier says about 190,000 of its power poles could be used to help usher in the electric vehicle revolution in Australia.
The lack of available charging infrastructure is a major hurdle electric vehicle owners say is slowing down uptake among current petrol car drivers. While governments around the country have committed to installing tens of thousands more to meet the skyrocketing demand, as it stands there's not quite enough — with queues regularly seen forming among EV drivers for a spot to power up.
While this rollout is underway, Ausgrid, the largest energy network in the country — which covers 22,000 square kilometres across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter — has proposed a promising solution.
The provider, that currently supplies more than 1.6 million properties with power, said across its network there are over half a million power poles. Of these, they said, almost 40 per cent may able to be fitted with EV charging ports, that drivers could simply pull up beside, plug in and power up.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson for Ausgrid said there's only 150 EV charging outlets on its power poles at the moment, but the hope is that will soon change significantly.
"We believe around 190,000 (or 37 per cent) of Ausgrid poles may be suitable for further assessment to have pole-mounted chargers installed," the spokesperson told Yahoo.
For the millions of drivers in the region, it would be a game-changer as the EV transition continues.
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The energy supplier anticipates tens of thousands of new chargers will need to be made available to motorists by the end of the decade.
"The NSW government is aiming for 52 per cent of all new car sales to be EVs by 2030-31 and Ausgrid believes 38,000 public EV chargers are needed — 11,000 in Ausgrid’s network — to meet increasing demand."
Under Ausgrid’s proposal, the spokesperson said, "we’d like the opportunity to directly install hardware on our poles". By "installing on our existing poles at scale, we avoid the need for dedicated parking spots and footpath excavation, cutting costs and allowing more chargers to be installed."
But for this model to be equitable, Ausgrid said it would focus on rolling out chargers in areas where EV adoption is currently low, to provide enough confidence among members of the community to "make their next vehicle electric".
"The NSW government currently runs and maintains a heat map of predicted kerbside EV charging requirements," the spokesperson continued.
"Ausgrid will use this in tandem with working closely with local council to understand where their communities want chargers in their street, and to deliver kerbside charging where it is needed.
"We strongly believe that EVs are the way of the future."
Aussies cite lack of availability as major hurdle preventing electric vehicle uptake
According to the results of a study released this month, "availability of charging locations" was the third-most popular reason among responders when asked why they were hesitant to make the EV switch. Almost 40 per cent cited availability, with the price of charging another major concern.
"We hope providing infrastructure will give many people in our community the confidence to switch to an EV," the Ausgrid spokesperson said in response. "Especially those without off-street parking, people living in apartments and renters.
"We see EVs as a key way to enable our customers to participate in the net-zero transition, with vehicle emissions currently contributing 20 per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions."
Drivers pay for mounted chargers using an app or via an Ausgrid token, which acts like a tap-and-go debit card.
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