{"id":65021,"date":"2022-08-31T06:30:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T20:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=65021"},"modified":"2024-10-03T10:12:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T00:42:04","slug":"streetside-ev-charging-mb2614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/streetside-ev-charging-mb2614\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW Street-Side Power Pole EV Charging Trial Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Street-side<\/p>\n

50 sites across nine local government areas in NSW are to have EV chargers mounted on power poles to service electric car owners who don’t have off-street parking.<\/p>\n

There’s little doubt electric vehicles<\/a> will really take off in Australia as prices of cars drop and availability improves. But around 25% of households don’t have access to off- street parking and therefore can\u2019t (safely) charge an EV from home<\/a>. Some EV owners in such a predicament have been resourceful; stringing extension cords from their homes to the street – but this practice is a serious electrical safety and trip hazard.<\/p>\n

Something plentiful in many parts of Australia are power poles. While underground power is becoming more common, there are still around 7 million power poles across the country, and many of these are in heavily populated areas located adjacent to a road.<\/p>\n

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced yesterday<\/a> it will be providing an $871,000 grant to Intellihub for the deployment of 50 electric vehicle chargers supplied by Schneider Electric to be installed on power poles.<\/p>\n

\u201cPower poles line most of our public streets and that presents an opportunity for the EV charging market,” said Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine. \u201cThey\u2019re an accessible, safe, and practical option for EV charging.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Intellihub, there’s potential for 190,000 EV chargers to be connected to street- side power poles across Australia; each capable of servicing 10 households without access to off-street parking.<\/p>\n

A First For Australia, But Not The First<\/h2>\n

A number of potential challenges spring to mind such as vandalism1<\/a><\/sup> and equity of access. But while an Australian-first, power pole EV chargers have already been deployed beyond our shores in the USA, Canada and Europe; providing examples to learn from. On a related note, there have also been trials of EV charger “smart” street- light poles in Australia – in the Sydney suburbs of Blacktown<\/a> and Canada Bay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The local power pole trial will provide insights and solutions to any regulatory barriers and create a commercial model for Australian conditions.<\/p>\n

As well as Intellihub and Schneider Electric, other members of the consortium involved in the project and their roles are:<\/p>\n