The first pole-mounted electric vehicle charger in Sydney has launched as part of a plan by energy provider Ausgrid to install 30,000 stations throughout Australia over the next six years.
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The charger, installed in the inner west suburb of Glebe, is the first installed outside Newcastle where the project launched in December last year.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the facility could help to boost the confidence of apartment dwellers weighing up whether to buy an electric car.
Ausgrid chief executive Marc England unveiled the Sydney charger on Monday, in conjunction with charging infrastructure firm EVX and the City of Sydney.
Mr England said the new facility was designed to be unobtrusive in the urban location and give current and future electric car drivers another option to recharge, particularly those who did not have access to a private garage.
"Glebe is exactly the kind of suburb where demand for this solution will grow in the coming years, it is densely populated and many people don't have access to off-street parking," he said.
"We believe that once the community see more charging infrastructure like this close to their homes, they will feel confident they can make their next vehicle purchase an EV."
Mounting the chargers on poles ensured the chargers would not take up "precious road and footpath space", Ms Moore said, while also helping to reduce the city's transport pollution.
"The city is committed to lowering the barriers to electric vehicle uptake and use, particularly through increasing access to charging facilities," Ms Moore said.
The launch comes days after the Sydney City Council passed its Electrification of Transport in the City plan, which commits to doubling the number of chargers in council-owned car parks, as well as investigating off-street charging facilities and developing ways to retrofit old apartment buildings with EV chargers.
Ausgrid has committed to installing 30,000 pole-mounted electric vehicle chargers around Australia by 2029, with the technology promising to be cheaper to deploy than standalone vehicle-charging stations.
The new Sydney charger opened on the same day service provider Evie Networks launched its first electric vehicle chargers in the Northern Territory, in the suburb of Marrara.
Installed in a Red Rooster car park, Evie Networks chief executive Chris Mills said the facility meant the company now offered chargers in every Australian state and territory.
The number of electric vehicle public chargers grew by 44 per cent over the past year, according to the EV Council, and were now available in more than 2300 locations.
Australian Associated Press
