Drivers will be able to recharge their cars on the streets of another eight Sydney suburbs after the city mounted more electric vehicle charging stations on to its power poles.
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The eight chargers, which opened to the public on Monday, arrive nine months after EVX installed its first pole-mounted vehicle charger in the inner west suburb of Glebe.
And the organisations behind the rollout say having off-street charging options could give more motorists the confidence to invest in electric vehicles and cut transport emissions.
Local government authority, the City of Sydney, teamed with Ausgrid to to deliver the charging infrastructure, which Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said would be important to meet its target of net zero by 2035.
Ms Moore said the city would need to ensure private car use was "as green as possible" to meet the target but some apartment-dwellers and other residents without garages would need assistance to cut pollution.
"Research shows that most people who own an electric vehicle will be able to charge at home, work or a public off-street charging point but, given the city's urban fabric, not everyone in our community has access to private parking," she said.
"We're meeting the challenge of providing on-street charging capacity without obtrusive infrastructure taking up precious road and footpath space."
The newest EVX chargers have been installed on power poles in central Sydney, in suburbs including Millers Point and Pyrmont, as well as inner west suburbs such as Newtown and Camperdown, and in Rosebery and Alexandria in the south.
The stations offer 14 charging points and are powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Ausgrid distributed services group executive Rob Amphlett Lewis said the roadside chargers were easier to install than other types of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and could address issues around accessibility and delays.
"Power pole-mounted chargers are faster and cheaper to deploy than other kerbside charging units," he said.
"We believe as the community sees more charging infrastructure close to their homes, they will feel confident making their next purchase an EV."
Sydney's first pole-mounted charger in Glebe has operated since February.
The installation is one of several electric vehicle charging trials under way in Australia, with Intellihub promising to test 50 power pole-mounted chargers across NSW following an investment from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
The metering provider estimated one off-street charger could service 10 households without private parking facilities.
Australia is expected to see almomst 180,000 electric cars on local roads by the end of the year, according to the Electric Vehicle Council, after sales of new models tripled during 2023.
Some NSW electric car buyers will face higher prices, however, after the state government announced plans to axe the $3000 rebate and stamp duty exemptions on some new electric cars on January 1.
Australian Associated Press
