Thursday, 28 November 2024

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Tim READ (Brunswick) (17:35): (967) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Energy and Resources. The action I seek is for the state to invest in a generous subsidy program so that organisations like councils, EV charging companies and power companies can afford to put more EV chargers in public spaces, especially those with reduced access to off-street parking.

The government’s zero-emissions vehicle road map and its recently released energy plan for Victoria’s future both anticipate the inclusion of vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home technology in Victoria’s energy system in the near future. Also known as bidirectional charging, this technology allows household EVs not only to take power from the grid or from an electrified home but also to put power back into the grid or home. This technology has enormous potential to transform Victoria’s energy landscape, especially because EVs can act as large power banks that charge during off-peak periods and supply energy back to the grid during peak periods when there is high energy demand.

The problem for many people in Victoria is that at present our infrastructure is not ready for this EV utopia. Many Victorians, particularly in my electorate of Brunswick, live in old houses that were built without driveways or in apartment buildings that were built before EV charging was considered necessary. As a state we are failing to keep up with popular demand for charging infrastructure, and EV owners are filling the void with their own innovations. In the inner city we are already seeing creative attempts to snake extension cords under and over footpaths. I have even seen one coiled around a tree and dangling down to the car. I have seen them threaded through storm drains.

I understand New South Wales has recently launched a $10 million grant program that supports the installation of EV chargers, including 39 pole-mounted chargers that have been installed for free public use along kerbsides in Sydney’s inner west. I hope Victoria can follow this example, and I might add New South Wales also has a separate grant program for destination charging. We should also consider incentives to encourage people to charge their cars during the day when the sun is shining and solar power is cheap and plentiful and to discourage people from charging their electric vehicles during evening periods of peak demand. I do not always say this, but in this instance let us become more like New South Wales.