EV charging coming to NSW power poles

New South Wales is about to have 50 electric vehicle chargers installed on street-side power poles for EV owners who don’t have access to off-street parking to charge their cars.

The installations will be made across the Waverley, Woollahra, Randwick, Lake Macquarie, Ryde, Singleton, Parramatta, Northern Beaches and Inner West local government areas in a new $2.04 million project being led by Intellihub.

With financial backing from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the project aims to show there are “no regulatory barriers to using existing infrastructure”, like electricity poles, to support and run EV chargers.

ARENA also says the project will help understand the impact of chargers on the power grid.

The chargers themselves are being supplied by Schneider Electric and will be managed by charging solutions provider EVSE.

Origin Energy is also on board with the project and will supply “100 per cent GreenPower”, meaning all of the energy required to charge vehicles during the trial will be matched with the equivalent amount of certified renewable energy added to the grid.

“It’s expected that as many as 10 per cent of new car sales in Australia will be electric vehicles by 2025,” said Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine.

“That equates to an extra 120,000 new EVs on our local streets each year.

“Power poles line most of our public streets and that presents an opportunity for the EV charging market. They’re an accessible, safe and practical option for EV charging.”

If the trial proves a success, Ballantine said Intellihub will pursue a larger rollout in more local government areas on a commercial basis.

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