Locally owned and independent
November 23, 2023
The Northern Rivers Times
NEWS 11
Kerbside EV charging comes to Byron Bay The two new dual chargers, located on Childe Street, Belongil and Wordsworth Street, Byron Bay are set to help tackle charge delays ahead of the summer holiday period Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure company, EVX is continuing to deliver convenient kerbside charging to regional Australia, launching two of its Australian-made EVX Polechargers to Byron Bay – just in time for the summer holiday season. As an alternative to waiting for highway adjacent ‘rapid charging’, kerbside EV charging allows users to benefit from charging while at their destination when stopping for an hour or more. This type of charging infrastructure is critical to tackling bottlenecks at other charging facilities, particularly during holiday periods. EVX CEO, Andrew Forster, said: “Byron Bay is one of the state’s most loved road trip holiday destinations, but to date, the charging infrastructure hasn’t met the demand – particularly during key holiday periods where we
are seeing queues at rapid charging stations along the main highways, up and down the coast.” There’s a fair level of tolerance in the ‘early adopter’ EV community for charging delays, but as the number of EVs on Australia’s roads continues to increase, that tolerance level will fall dramatically. We are thrilled to be part of the solution to bring more EV charging to regional Australia.” These kerbside chargers are part of a trial with EVX and Essential Energy to test the feasibility of installing chargers on Essential Energy-owned power poles across regional New South Wales. The two new Byron Bay chargers are in addition to last month’s launch of new chargers on the mid-north coast. Essential Energy Chief Commercial Officer, Justin Hillier added: “More charging stations across regional, rural, and remote NSW will help overcome one of the main barriers for those looking to purchase an EV – range anxiety. We are working with charge point operators, like EVX, and local councils, like Bryon Shire Council to
Byron Shire Mayor, Michal Lyon, at the Wordsworth Street EVX pole charger
see more charge points installed on the network, as part of our commitment to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles.” Byron Shire Mayor, Michal Lyon, added: “We are thankful that EVX and Essential Energy have chosen Byron Bay in their one-year trial of electric vehicle charging stations at Childe Street and Wordsworth Street. Council staff worked with them to select appropriate locations and facilitate installation, as well as supporting with line marking and signage,” he said. “These stations will encourage drivers to
consider driving or owning an electric vehicle by giving them more options to choose from around the Shire and align with the Council’s broader sustainability strategy and climate change mitigation goals. “Other charging stations can be found near Byron Bay Library and the Mullumbimby Council Building,” he added. Kerbside charging essential for regional Australia With more than eight per cent[1] of new cars sold now running on electricity, regional areas
are struggling to provide the infrastructure needed to sustain local EV drivers and EV-driving tourists. Forster comments: “The barriers to buying an EV are starting to disappear, but as EV numbers on our roads quickly rise, there’s a lot of work to do to ensure Australia’s charging infrastructure keeps pace, particularly in rural and regional Australia which have so far been lagging city and metro areas.” “When regional areas fall behind, this not only contributes to the range anxiety experienced by EV owners who travel longer distances, it also disincentivises those in regional areas to make the important switch to EVs.” EVX’s one-of-a-kind kerbside chargers can be installed with ease on pre-existing (utility pole) infrastructure. The chargers have a low impact on the local electricity grid infrastructure by utilising AC charging with smart charging capability. Their installation on existing power poles means the above-ground charging points are easily added without the need for major civil works.
EVX at the forefront of Council and electricity distributor partnerships EVX aims to partner with more electricity distributors and local councils to increase the availability of charging opportunities outside the home and fastcharging stations. To date, EVX has made agreements with Ausgrid and the City of Newcastle, as well as with the City of Sydney, and is set to announce more partnerships with other key distributors. EVX is one of the only charging technologies that has been locally designed and manufactured and is compliant with Australian regulations. EVX can partner with electricity distributors to install chargers on existing electricity infrastructure, enabling a more costeffective and quicker rollout of EV chargers. EVX developed the EVX Polecharger from the ground up to meet the challenges utility providers and local governments face in rolling out EV charging infrastructure sustainably while adhering to local electrical and planning regulations.
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