The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) has announced a number of rapid EV charging sites, due to come online shortly.
The RAA Charge network’s first 150kW Rapid charging site officially went online today at the Barossa Central shopping centre. This comes at a time when new data shows 2023 electric vehicle (EV) sales in South Australia are on track to double the amount sold last year.
Located at 1 Murray St, Nuriootpa SA 5355, Australia, the charger is now listed on Plugshare. The 150kW Rapid Charger is a Kempower product that offers 2x CCS2 connectors, which suit the vast majority of EVs on Australian roads. Charging here costs 59c kWh normally, although has an elevated cost if you charge between 5 PM and 10 PM, which then costs a premium 68c kWh.
The Nuriootpa charging location is the first of more than 50 Rapid or Ultra-Rapid charging locations to be built as part of the RAA Charge network.
Once complete, the border-to-border network will consist of 140 charging sites and 25% of these are now online and available to EV drivers.
Chief Executive Officer, Nick Reade said the rapid-charging technology will be able to charge the average electric vehicle in around 10-45 minutes.
Powered by renewable electricity, our Rapid and Ultra-Rapid chargers are the future of EV charging technology, and will help to make range anxiety a thing of the past for South Australian EV drivers.
Chief Executive Officer Nick Reade
These charging sites will help power South Australians through their regional road trips, allowing for only a short stop to plug in and grab a coffee or bite to eat before hitting the road again – fully charged.
We are now 25% of the way through the rollout of the RAA Charge network giving more South Australian drivers the confidence to go all-electric. In the coming months another approximately 10 Rapid or Ultra-Rapid chargers will come online in regions such as the Fleurieu Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula and Adelaide Hills.
Rapid and Ultra-Rapid charging sites
The following locations are set to come online in the coming months:
- Burnside Council carpark (200kW Ultra-Rapid)
- Mt Barker Homemaker Centre (200kW Ultra-Rapid)
- Cowell Waterfront carpark (150kW Rapid)
- Port Augusta Wharflands Esplanade (200kW Ultra-Rapid)
- Normanville Village Green (150kW Rapid)
- Barmera Main St carpark (200kW Ultra-Rapid)
- Blackwood Community Centre carpark (150kW Rapid)
- Morgan Railway Terrace carpark (150kW Rapid)
- Woodside Klose’s Foodland (150kW Rapid)
- Goolwa Council carpark (150kW Rapid)
Mr Reade said research showed 62% of RAA members were considering buying an EV as their next car. He went on to indicate that an increasing amount of their members are choosing EVs and they are making the moves to ensure the infrastructure is there to support them.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows EVs accounted for 6.8% of new vehicles purchased in SA last month were electric vehicles. While there’s a long way to go, this is impressive growth, up from just 2.6 per cent in 2022.
Regional and rural connectivity is a must, not just to make sure people living in the regions aren’t locked out of the benefits of owning an electric vehicle, but to incentivise people travelling to and through these areas.
Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis
A statewide EV charging network is an important step on our journey to a net zero future. We look forward to watching the network continue to grow with South Australian motorists’ needs.
Once complete, over 75 per cent of the RAA Charge network will be located in regional SA, and 98 per cent of the planned charging sites will be located less than 200 kms apart.
It will cost between $22-$26 to charge the average EV at an RAA Charge Rapid or Ultra-Rapid site, compared to the more than $50 it would cost to fill up the same car with petrol.
To locate a nearby charger, initiate charging and complete payment, EV drivers simply need to download and access the Chargefox app and we can also expect the locations to show up on Plugshare when they go live.
The RAA Charge network is being delivered with the support of a $12.35 million grant from the Government of South Australia.
Great news – we did struggle a bit on a recent trip to SA