EV Charging Stations Every 5 Kilometres in Metro NSW

An electric vehicle charges on a publicly accessible pole-mounted charger in Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2022. Eugene Garcia/AP Photo

Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be placed five kilometres (three miles) apart in metro areas and 100 kilometres apart on major roads and highways in New South Wales (NSW).

It comes after the NSW Parliament passed net zero legislation in both houses on Nov. 29 requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

The Labor state government, led by Premier Chris Minns, is opening an EV Fast Charging Grants program in early 2024 to help achieve this goal.

This will cost $149 million (US$97 million) to taxpayers, and will ensure the charging stations are installed across the state.

An extra $20 million is being invested in the EV Destination Charging Program, $10 million for EV Ready Building grants to place electrical infrastructure in apartments, and $10 million for extra kerbside charging.

The goal is to boost EV uptake in state to help the government achieve “net zero” emissions targets.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the government is working with businesses to create a large network of charging infrastructure that will “encourage more people to choose electric vehicles.”

“The new chargers will be installed in public locations such as shopping centres to make it easy for EV owners to top-up batteries while they go about their everyday lives,” she said.

“Fast and ultra-fast charging is convenient for drivers who need to re-charge their car battery quickly, whether they’re travelling in metro or regional areas.

“Supporting the electrification of fleets is a win-win. Not only does it significantly increase the number of EVs on our roads and decrease emissions, it also results in more affordable second-hand EVs coming onto the market as fleets tend to turn over their vehicles every three to five years.”

Meanwhile, EV Fleets Incentive program is providing grants to 37 applicants, which will lead to an extra 1,820 EVs on the roads, the NSW government said. This is the equivalent of 22 percent of the EVs registered in NSW in 2023.

An investment of $26 million (US$17 million) in three rounds of the grants program has added an extra 3,800 EVs to the road.

Further, the government has delivered $44.8 million (US$29 million) of funding under the second road of the EV fast charging grants program.

“These funds contribute towards the cost of building and operating fast and ultra-fast EV charging stations,” the government said.

The grants will enable organisations to install 103 new charging stations that enable drivers to charge their EVs in 10 to 15 minutes.

An EV charging car space in Calamvale of Brisbane, Australia on Jan. 29, 2023. Daniel Teng/The Epoch Times

“Each station contains between four and 15 ultra-fast charging bays. They will be built over the next 18 to 24 months on highways and in regional and metropolitan areas,” the government said.

Climate Change Net Zero Bill

The Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Bill (pdf) received support from both major parties and the Greens in both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council in the final week of sitting for the year in NSW.

The legislation requires NSW to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent in the year 2035 compared to 2005 levels and 50 percent by 2030.

Under the legislation, the state is also expected to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Ms. Sharpe said the bill provides the framework for NSW to embark on the “essential journey to net zero emissions and better resilience to climate change.”

“Climate change is an environmental challenge, but also poses an economic opportunity. This Bill provides certainty for industry, business, investors, and all sectors of the NSW economy, and shows them they are not alone in responding to this challenge,” she said.

“I welcome the discussion and multi-party support that has led to the passage of this Bill and look forward to accelerating the transition to renewable energy that will deliver cleaner and more affordable energy to households and businesses.”

Liberal shadow minister for energy and climate change, James Griffin, also expressed support for the legislation during debate (pdf) in the legislative assembly.

“All members can be proud of the continued success of New South Wales as a leader in the energy transition and responsible management of climate change,” he said.

“In 2023, we do not really need to go into much detail about the rationale for legislation that seeks to deal with climate change. The issue is well understood, our communities expect outcomes and our children rely on us to take courageous action.”

However, Libertarian Party member of the legislative council, John Ruddick, raised major concerns with the net zero bill during debate on the bill, describing global boiling as a “mass delusion.”

He said his party not only opposes the details of the bill, but also the foundation.

“Global boiling is a mass delusion. Mankind has been subject to many in the past,” he said (pdf).

“There are probably 200 factors that influence atmospheric temperature, and today we understand few of them. The science will progress over time, but it is fanciful to think that there is one atmospheric temperature control switch called carbon dioxide—and that is what this bill is based on.

“It is said that 0.04 percent of the atmosphere controls everything and that most of the carbon dioxide is naturally made. Yes, industrialisation creates a bit, but we are saying that that little bit is going to change the temperature.

“These are the witchdoctors of primitive times: We can change the weather.”