Round 3 of EECA EV Contestable Fund applications close in 1 month

Applicants now have just over one month left to apply for grants from the third round of the government's EV contestable fund. Companies, councils and organisations can apply for a share of $3 million in funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority's (EECA) contestable fund for projects that support the uptake of EVs. Applicants have until Wednesday 27 September to submit proposals for the third round of funding. The fund will offer up to 50 per cent of funding for suitable projects and is generally, but not strictly limited to a total of $500,000, according to the EECA website. “Projects should support practical, sustainable ways to increase uptake particularly in the light fleet market, close gaps in charging infrastructure and demonstrate the uses of heavy electric vehicles across the economy,” the EECA said today. The EECA wants submissions for projects that would support the growth of a regional EV charging network, assist with infrastructure costs to enable the rollout of bus and truck fleets, and demonstrations of EVs efficacy generally. Palmerston North City Council, Wellington City Council and Tranzit Group Ltd were among those awarded funding in the last round of submissions. Green Cabs, Foodstuff and Z Energy were among those awarded funding in the round before that.  NZ Post was also awarded funding from the Contestable Fund and announced yesterday that it would   purchase five electric vans to assess their suitability for use in their courier fleet. New Zealand Post Sustainability Specialist Sam Bridgman says the funding will help towards making electric vans in NZ Post's courier fleet mainstream. “We would like to thank the EECA in helping us with this funding. In addition to our other low carbon initiatives, these vehicles will help us develop new ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the mail we deliver,” said Bridgman. The fund is one of several government initiatives to increase the uptake of EVs on New Zealand roads every year to a target of 64,000 by 2021. The aim has been to double the number of EV registrations each year, a target that has so far been reached every year since 2014, and 2017 also looks set to hit 5,334 total registrations according to the current growth of EV sales. The New Zealand EV fleet currently sits at around 4,200.