By Parker McKenzie
Warburton will be the home of an electric vehicle charging station each in the near future, as well as Belgrave and Healesville, increasing the range of travel available to EV owners throughout the Yarra Valley.
The charging stations will be built through the State Government’s Destination Charging Across Victoria Program and will be installed by Evie Networks as a part of their 55 charging stations across the state funded through the program. The 50-kilowatt charging stations will feature two bays, allowing an electric vehicle to charge around 150km of range in 30 minutes.
Evie Networks CEO Chris Mills said the fast chargers will support convenient charging for locals and promote tourism across the region.
“The charging stations at Warburton, Healesville and Belgrave are part of our national plan to enable Electric Vehicles to travel across Australia without the fear of range anxiety.” he said.
The EVCCF program has awarded $5 million in grant funding to 32 applicants, with the planned installation of around 141 charging stations. It aims to build a fast-charging network in key tourist and high-use locations.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child said the charging stations would make the Yarra Ranges better equipped and connected for EV travel.
“Our municipality is large and diverse, so these additional charging stations will significantly reduce any range anxiety by EV users while they travel throughout the Yarra Ranges,” he said.
“These public fast chargers will mean that current EV owners, and hopefully prospective EV owners, will be a maximum 80km return trip to any charge point in the municipality.”
Evie Networks currently has around 70 charging sites active around Australia, with another 300 in various states of building and development.
