Support for electric plan
ChargeNet has described the government’s draft long-term national electric vehicle (EV) charging strategy as a “step in the right direction”.
The company says it supports co-ordinated efforts to strengthen and diversify EV charging infrastructure across the country.
Initiatives in the draft strategy, which is called Charging Our Future and was released for consultation on March 22, include the installation of charging hubs every 150-200km on main highways, a public charger for every 20-40 EVs in urban areas and public charging at community facilities where 2,000 or more people live.
Danusia Wypych, chief executive officer of ChargeNet, which she describes as “New Zealand’s only end-to-end network”, says the company is ready to continue investing in public infrastructure to support the uptake of EVs.
“ChargeNet continues to invest in new sites across the country as well as strengthen our existing sites to accommodate more EVs,” says Wypych, pictured. “But, as a whole, New Zealand is lagging behind the rest of the world in our delivery of charging infrastructure.
“We’ve been investing heavily in our network for seven years and we’re now starting to see some sites that are commercially viable in their own right. The scale of investment required means the charging strategy must be supported by industry, with focused financial commitment from the government to see our adoption of EVs and carbon reduction continue at pace.”
Wypych says ChargeNet is expecting to see one million EV charging sessions occur at its sites over next 12 months, so it’s critical for a strong investment pathway to be maintained to support drivers. “With increased registrations of EVs, we’re seeing some sites double the amount of electricity they are delivering.
“With a need for charging sites that can accommodate more EVs as well as an increase in the number of locations, we anticipate that across the industry more than $400 million of investment could be required for charging infrastructure over the next five years.
“In some communities, essential investments will not be fully commercial at this time for the location or scale that makes sense for the long term. We look forward to seeing a well-considered funding strategy to complement the draft.
“The time to commit to infrastructure is now. If we want to achieve our ambition of a net-zero emissions economy, we must continue to incentivise the rapid uptake of EVs, strong public-charging infrastructure, off-peak electricity use and create access for all households.”
Wypych believes the key to getting people to transition to electric cars is user experience – that’s to say, keeping things, fast and simple will reinforce the positive experience.
“We support the government’s proposal to provide charging hubs on main highways and are already working towards this as we grow our network. There’s a real opportunity to integrate these into towns and communities that can provide amenities and services to drivers.
“Overseas experience suggests charging hubs can end up isolated. We’re fortunate in New Zealand to have so many community locations that can serve both local EV uptake and drivers travelling throughout the country.
The government strategy presents an opportunity to create meaningful connections between these communities and the travelling public.”
ChargeNet operates this country’s largest nationwide EV charging network, which includes more than 280 strategically positioned rapid DC-charge points.
