In exciting news for Australian EV owners who want to drive in rural and regional areas of our large country, the NRMA has today opened a new 4 bay (2x ABB Terra184 ?) fast electric vehicle charger location in Mudgee.
Only one photo is provided in the press release but from it I can see that the 4 parking bays are clearly marked “Electric Vehicle charging only” and there are two separate Parking Rules signs on poles either side of the charging bays.
Both of these show that NRMA understands how to communicate with EV and ICE drivers at their charging sites.
This is the first location funded by the Federal Government’s Driving the Nation Fund, and is the 100th charger in the NRMA’s expanding network of regional chargers.
The site located in Short Street, Mudgee forms part of the NRMA’s $78.6 million funding partnership with the Federal Government. The partnership will see the creation of 117 co-funded fast charging sites across Australia’s national highway network.
NRMA Energy CEO Carly Irving-Dolan said the rollout of next generation charging technology which shares up to 360 kWh of charging capacity across 4 parking bays, was an exciting development for regional and rural communities across Australia.
Ms Irving-Dolan said:
“As EV uptake increases, drivers expect to be able to navigate our national highway network and find a charge with ease. The rollout of this program sees vital connections established and blackspots addressed across the routes most travelled by Australians”.
“The NRMA knows the importance of connecting communities, whether it’s those from the city or the bush. With our expanding network of EV chargers, we are empowering people to move whenever, wherever they want to safely and confidently”.
“Since the NRMA installed the first regional EV charger in 2018 in Wallsend we have worked to ensure the regions weren’t the last to receive critical infrastructure that would facilitate the transition to low emissions vehicles”.
“Destinations like Mudgee are important connector towns to Central West NSW and beyond. These chargers have a vital role to play in enabling journeys and encouraging tourism to regional and remote communities”.
“We are changing the way people work, live and play. We are committed to ensuring that no Australian community is left behind in the EV transition”.
“When the NRMA National EV charging network is complete Australians will be able to travel from Katherine to Cairns and Alice Springs to the Adelaide River in an electric vehicle”.
How many NRMA EV charging sites have you used during your road trips? Pictured below are two of the ones I’ve visited.