The NSW government is paving the way to make it easier to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state.
The New South Wales Department of Planning has pulled the need for planning approvals to install electric vehicle chargers in carparks and depots, opening the door for the faster spread of the technology.
“The NSW Government is committed to showing leadership in the move to cleaner technologies and making it easier for electric car charging and battery exchanging stations to be built across the state is one of the ways in which we can do this,” Deputy Secretary for Policy and Strategy, Alison Frame said.
These latest developments are part of a wider series of changes to the state environmental planning policy and were driven by public feedback.
There are currently only around 800 charging stations Australia-wide, although car manufacturers such as Jaguar have been investing millions of dollars to increase this number around the country.
The chief of Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council, Behyad Jafari, said these latest changes by the NSW government will lift the number of electric vehicles on Australian roads.
“By providing a clear path through the approval process, we’ll see more investment in charging locations, supporting the people of NSW to use electric vehicles that remove pollution from our roads and cost less to run,” Mr Jafari said.
“The benefits of taking action are clear, with investment and sales taking off around the world. Governments and industry need to continue working together to ensure Australians have access to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.”
Government support has been labelled critical to the growth in electric vehicle usage in Australia.
Currently, electric vehicles comprise about one per cent of the vehicles on Australian roads, with only 2284 EVs sold in 2017, however, this is forecast to rise to more than 200,000 by 2025. Globally, EV sales are forecast to hit 1.5 million in 2018.
An official report by the federal government found financial incentives, in the form of subsidies, would be one of the largest drivers for the adoption of EVs in Australia.
However, some state governments are working to encourage EV uptake. Earlier this year, Queensland completed the world’s longest electric vehicle superhighway, running from Cairns to Coolangatta.
The Australian Capital Territory government also plans to make all of its pool vehicles electric by 2021.
In NSW and Canberra, the National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) is installing at least 40 new electric vehicle chargers, working towards making at least 95 per cent of the region within 150 kilometres of a fast charging station.
The Australian Energy Market Commission has also developed new rules around the integration of battery technology into the country’s energy grid, allowing for an easier adoption of electric vehicles and the installation of charging infrastructure.
Extracted from The Sydney Morning Herald