Adelaide City Council has launched a new sustainability initiative that will see at least 40 electric vehicle charging stations installed throughout the city, including 10 charging points in the Adelaide Central Market UPark by the end of 2017.
The latest installment of the Council’s Sustainability Incentives Scheme, unveiled on Sunday, will also provide generous incentives for the installation of private EV charging infrastructure, with up to $5,000 on offer for each electric car charging point, and up to $250 for each electric bicycle point.
Already, Adelaide Council has had four electric vehicle charging points in two of its UPark car parking facilities, which have been providing free EV charging since 2010.
The 10 new charging stations at the Central Market Upark will provide free charging for permanent reserved and casual parkers until at least 2020 and possibly 2025, when it is expected that EVs will be much more common on Australian roads.
The new charging points will also incorporate a smart green parking system that will monitor and match EV parking demand during peak periods, so that the rollout of EV charging points can be achieved without reducing total parking space availability for other vehicles.
The move, which is another step on the path to making Adelaide one of the world’s first carbon neutral cities, has been welcomed by car makers and by the Australian Electric Vehicles Association (AEVA), as a boost to EV uptake in Australia, which has been slow compared to other parts of the world.
“The perception of anxiety about the range of electric vehicles is a huge barrier for many, and is the most common question asked about owning an electric vehicle,” said AEVA’s South Australian branch chairperson, Paul Koch.
“This number of charging stations spread across the city will work at removing this barrier. Our Association strongly supports initiatives like this which will increase the uptake of electric vehicles, and create a more sustainable future. It’s just fantastic.”
Top image via ABC News, by Candice Prosser.
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