Popular holiday destinations around Aus are due for an electric overhaul

State governments are pouring hundreds of millions into EV infrastructure, it’s about time they look towards the holiday hotspots that are being inundated with EV owners.

STAFF WRITERS

2 min read

12:00AMMay 26, 2023.

Updated 5:23AMMay 27, 2023

Senior journalist Andrew Hough with the Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire at a NRMA EV car charger in Tanunda SA. Pictured on 16th Feb 2023 for the Bigger Better SA campaign. Picture: Ben Clark

The electric vehicle industry is responding to criticism around a lack of charging infrastructure by crunching data as it works to expand the network across NSW and the country.

Stories of long waits at some holiday hotspots – including the Eurobodalla Shire on the NSW south coast – have the industry reshaping its plans to future proof the charging network as sales of EVs continue to boom.

It comes as state governments pour hundreds of millions of dollars into not only expanding the EV-charging footprint but also the number of charging bays at each location.

As part of its plan to add 30,000 chargers by 2026, for example, the NSW government has committed to having an ultra-rapid EV charger no further than every 100km on major roads and highways across the state.

CEO, Electric Vehicle Council, Behyad Jafari

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari says there is extensive work and analysis being done to counter fears from EV owners of having to queue to charge.

“One bit of good news that comes from that pain of there being those particularly long waits in a few areas is that, as an industry, we get to very quickly learn from that,” Jafari says.

“When I talk to the charging networks they say ‘that taught us where those long queues are going to form so that tells us exactly where we need to build more chargers’.”

That will no doubt be welcome news to residents of shires such as Eurobodalla, a popular holiday hotspot for Canberrans, who have the highest rate of EV uptake in the country.

Eurobodalla Mayor and Tesla owner Matthew Hatcher says there can often be a wait to charge an EV and that during the recent summer holiday period visitors were often waiting “hours” to charge their cars.

Eurobodalla Shire Mayor, Matthew Hatcher

“After waiting a while to charge your car, the actual charging part can also take a bit of time, depending if it’s a fast charger or not,” Hatcher says.

A 350kW ultra-rapid charger can add 300km of range to some EVs in around 15 minutes, whereas the more common 50kW fast chargers could take an hour or more for the same result (slower destination chargers would take many more hours).

Jafari agrees that fast chargers are a key component along major routes, pointing out that “the faster the charger, the more charges that are available per site”.

He also says increased EV traffic is leading to more expansive charging stations, in much the same way as smaller service stations have expanded into bigger service centres, often furnished with a range of dining options.

“A few years ago some networks would build out one or two chargers per site, now we’re seeing it’s more like six per site,” he said.

Eurobodalla Council recently closed submissions on a draft strategy which proposes to double the amount of public fast chargers in the area by 2027.

It’s a plan Hatcher says is needed, given the amount of Canberrans who travel to the town in an EV – and the ongoing popularity of EVs.

“Electric cars are getting cheaper and more accessible and there is a future where they are going to be the norm,” Hatcher says.

“I love mine, I would never go back to a petrol car.

“We need to start future proofing our towns to prepare for this EV future and we’re working hard to do just that.”

BEHYAD JAFARI
CEO, ELECTRIC VEHICLE COUNCIL

Popular holiday destinations around Aus are due for an electric overhaul

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