Mid-Western Regional Council will investigate the feasibility of installing more electric vehicle (EV) chargers around the region.
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Councillor Paul Cavalier put forth the motion at the June 15 meeting, calling for the boost in infrastructure.
"We're all acutely aware of the fact that electric vehicles are definitely incoming and the sale of electric vehicle around Australia are only increasing and that it would be prudent for Mid-Western Regional Council to identify some options for us to provide some electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the region," Cr Cavalier said.
"All that I'm asking Council to do here is to investigate those options."
Councillors Thompson and Shelley expressed their concern about who will pay to power the chargers.
"I've had my concerns as well for who's going to pay for these free top-ups for electric vehicles. First of all I'd like to thank the coal companies for a start who supply like 80 per cent of the supply of electricity for these vehicles," Cr Shelley said.
"... It'd be like rocking up to a servo and getting a free tank of gas with everybody else paying for it - but that's not what we're here for tonight and that's not what Councillor Cavalier's motion is, but we certainly should assess any grant opportunities for what will probably be inevitable."
The motion passed with only Cr Thompson voting against it.
A report with recommended EV sites, grant opportunities and required budget will be brought to Council at a future meeting.
The NSW Government announced in May a raft of co-funded grants which will place up to 3,500 additional EV chargers across regional NSW.
A range of destinations across regional NSW can apply for the grants, including motels, wineries, cafes, restaurants, natural attractions, visitor information centres, museums and zoos.
Currently there are a handful of slower destination chargers around the Mid-Western Region and one NRMA rapid charger available for EV drivers.
The grants will fund the following for up to four EV chargers per site:
- 75% towards the cost of an eligible 7 kW and/or 22 kW electric vehicle charger(s)
- 75% towards the cost of installation (capped at $1,000 per charger)
- 50% towards a 2-year EV charger software subscription from the EV charger software list.
To be eligible, applicants must be located in an eligible regional NSW local government area (LGA), part of an approved destination type as listed on page 25 of the guidelines and have no more than one existing EV charger installed.