Syndey EV owners will shortly have access to charge at 50 streetside chargers, solving one of the key challenges for those who don’t have access to charge at home. These pole-mounted electric vehicle chargers are now being rolled out on local streets across Sydney and the Hunter regions of NSW, under the Intellihub EV Streetside Charging project.
The chargers offer 22-kilowatts which is a very healthy rate for overnight charging. EV owners are likely to wake up with a charged vehicle, regardless of what state of charge they arrive with. The energy comes via Schneider Electric chargers which are installed on power poles and connected directly to the overhead electricity network.
For those who like to criticise EV charging, you can tell them the energy consumed is being matched with 100% accredited GreenPower. This means all of the energy required to charge the vehicles will be matched with the equivalent amount of certified renewable energy added to the grid.
The project is being supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency through its Advancing Renewables Program. The objective of the project is to:
• demonstrate that there are no regulatory barriers to using existing street furniture that already has power running to it.
• test how many people will use the chargers. If it is a commercial success is achieved, then a wider rollout of chargers will be possible on a commercial basis.
As you’ll see in the images below, the charger requires you to bring your own EV charging cable. There are many different types of charging cables, but the one you need here (for the vast majority of EVs in Australia) is a Type 2 to Type 2 EV charging cable.
This is available from a range of locations, just be sure you get the 22kW version which is a little more expensive, but will allow you to charge faster thanks to three-phase power. It is also worth considering how long the cable needs to be as they do come in different lengths.
Tens of thousands of power pole or streetlight EV chargers have been deployed across London, Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg; and Toronto.
Other cities such as Seattle, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, Berlin are exploring similar alternatives to increase Electric Vehicle adoption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from private transport.
If successful, there is potential for 190,000 EV chargers that could be connected to street-side power poles across Australia. It’s estimated that one on-street charger could service 10 households that don’t have access to off-street parking.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen today officially powered up the first of the EV chargers to hit the streets in the busy inner-Sydney suburb of Wolli Creek.
The chargers have also gone live in Lane Cove and St Leonards in Sydney’s North and at Maroubra, Coogee and North Bondi in Sydney’s east.
An additional 41 EV chargers will now be installed in local streets across Sydney’s St George, Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches regions, and the Lake Macquarie and Singleton regions in the Hunter Valley.
The remainder of the chargers will progressively come online by the end of the year.
The chargers will connect to the Ausgrid electricity network and Origin Energy is providing 100% accredited GreenPower for the project.
Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine said new public charging solutions were required to support the rapid uptake of electric vehicles across the country.
“Around nine percent of all new car sales in Australia are now electric vehicles, and in some areas of Sydney the rates of EV adoption are double the national average.
Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine
By 2030, most experts expect that there will be more than one million electric vehicles on Australian roads.
Power poles line most streets and that presents an enormous opportunity for local communities that will need a range of public charging solutions.
They’re an accessible, safe, and practical option for EV charging.”
Areas with high-density housing, sports and recreational facilities, local shopping centres or transport precincts have been prioritised for the rollout.
Local councils have also conducted extensive community engagement to help guide the best locations from a community perspective.
“About one in four Australian households don’t have access to off-street parking, so these sorts of public charging solutions are a real necessity.
EV drivers will be able to book a charging session, and then simply drive up, park and charge.
A two-hour charging session will typically provide enough charge for around 200 kilometres of driving.”
The EV chargers will be managed via the popular Exploren platform, which was developed by Australian EV software and hardware providers EVSE.
The Exploren platform supports about 500 public chargers across Sydney. It allows motorists to manage their charging sessions via a smartphone app.
The 22-kilowatt chargers have been supplied by Schneider Electric and have been enclosed in a durable and vandal-resistant metal case.
The ARENA-backed trial will help build a base of knowledge around regulatory and commercial barriers for public EV charging, as well as uptake by EV owners across different locations and incentives.
The full list of EV charger locations is available below, with the disclaimer that some sites are subject to final council and technical approval.
| Local council | Street Address |
|---|---|
| Lane Cove | Phoenix Street |
| Lane Cove | Little Street |
| Lane Cove | Christie Street |
| St Leonards | Oxley Street |
| St Leonards | Mindarie Street |
| Lane Cove North | Pinaroo Place |
| Lane Cove North | Sirius Road |
| Lane Cove West | Bayside Arncliffe Street |
| Wolli Creek | The Boulevard |
| Brighton Le Sands | Smith Street |
| Hillsdale | Shaw Street |
| Bexley North | Railway Street |
| Botany | Ida Street |
| Sans Souci | Lake Macquarie |
| Cardiff | Harrison Street |
| Morisset | Station Street (two sites) |
| Morisset | Bridge Street |
| Redhead | Beach Road |
| Dudley | Ocean Street |
| Charlestown | Smith Street |
| Singleton | Castlereagh Street |
| Randwick | Oberon Street |
| Randwick | Beach Street Coogee |
| Randwick | Roma Avenue Kensington |
| Randwick | Harbourne Road Kingsford |
| Randwick | Dutruc Street Randwick |
| Randwick | Soudan Street Randwick |
| Randwick | Marine Parade Maroubra |
| Local council | Street Address |
|---|---|
| Waverley | Macpherson Street Bronte |
| Waverley | Warners Avenue North Bondi |
| Waverley | Murriverie Road North Bondi |
| Waverley | Queens Park Road Queens Park Bronte Road Waverley |
| Waverley | Wiley Streets Waverley |
| Waverley | King Street Bondi |
| Woollahra | Campbell Avenue Paddington |
| Woollahra | Roylston Street Paddington |
| Woollahra | Sutherland Street Paddington |
| Woollahra | Quarry Street Woollahra |
| Woollahra | Trelawney Street Woollahra |
| Woollahra | Adelaide Street Woollahra |
| Woollahra | Salisbury Street Watsons Bay |
| Northern Beaches | Governor Phillip Park Palm Beach |
| Northern Beaches | Barrenjoey Road Avalon Beach |
| Northern Beaches | Kalinya Street Newport |
| Northern Beaches | Yulong Avenue Terrey Hills |
| Northern Beaches | Coronation Street Mona Vale |
| Northern Beaches | Boondah Road Warriewood |
| Northern Beaches | Blackbutts Road Frenchs Forest |
