The region’s electric car owners are breathing a sigh of relief following the completion of long-awaited upgrade work to the RACV’s electric vehicle charging  stations in Ballarat.

Recently completed works now sees the CBD Ballarat charge station at 61 Curtis  Street, near Big W, providing two new 50-kilowatt and two new  350-kilowatt charging stations. 

The local station which had been badly vandalised earlier, has now become the first in the  state to receive the upgrades with similar work also slated for seven other Victorian locations.  

RACV general manager energy  services Greg Edye says the upgrades will provide faster, more reliable  charging and will also  enhance the security of the site.

Upgrades are scheduled for RACV EV charging stations  at Horsham, Euroa, Airport West,  Barnawartha North, and Moe and also at the RACV’s Victorian  resorts and club venues.

An ugly spate of vandalism may have put Ballarat’s electric vehicle charging stations near Big W out of action for at least another month but it’s now expected that the well-used charge points will be back and operating from next month.

The RACV operates the Curtis Street charging points near Big W, and energy general manager Greg Edye has apologised for the inconvenience for residents and travellers.

The charger screens have been damaged and Mr Edye said in a statement that parts required for their repair are currently unavailable because the “company who provides them has gone into receivership”.

However, he said they will be upgrading and installing new chargers as well as CCTV for additional security next month.

It’s not the first time the heavily used Curtis Street EV charging station has been unusable because of vandalism since opening in the first quarter of 2020.

The charging points were also temporarily unable to be used in August and September last year and residents voiced concern over how long it takes for the stations to be repaired with local EV users calling for improved regulation of charge point maintenance.

The next closest RACV chargers are at the Creswick Goldfields Resort or drivers can use the Plugshare app to see locations of all public chargers, Mr Edye said.

When installed in 2020, Chargefox, who runs the software said the location was ideal because of the proximity to public bathrooms, shops and places to eat.

“This kind of vandalism is particularly mindless as those who engage in it are actually damaging themselves,” an EV driver who had been a regular user of the infrastructure told The Local.

“Efforts to counteract climate change, including the shift to EVs, are obviously in the best interests of everyone who lives on this planet.”

Trentham now has a new EV charger powered by 100% local renewable energy.

The Mechanics Trentham is now hosting the Hepburn Shire’s fourth electric vehicle (EV) charging station thanks to a collaboration between Hepburn Energy, Chargefox and the Hepburn Shire Council.

The new charge point came online in recent days, co-funded through the state government’s Destination Charging Across Victoria (DCAV) program and installed by Jetcharge.

It’s the fourth and final one to be installed as part of the DCAV program in the Hepburn Shire.

The stations are helping the region’s tourism industry become more sustainable while strengthening shire-wide efforts to reach zero-net emissions by 2030 as part of the Hepburn Z-NET partnership.

All of them are part of the Chargefox network, Australia’s largest EV charging network.

Hepburn Energy’s General Manager, Taryn Lane, says she’s excited to see the roll-out contribute to local zero-net emissions efforts.

“We are delighted with the charger’s new location at the Mechanics Trentham and thank council for making this amazing site available for the community charger,” she says.

“Each EV station installed takes a crucial step towards decarbonising local transport and contributing to our Hepburn Z-NET zero-net emissions target for 2030. And with these new chargers, community members and tourists can feel confident making this shift.”

Hepburn Shire Council Mayor, Cr Brian Hood, said the council was pleased to be working with project partners Hepburn Energy and Chargefox on delivering an additional charging station in the shire.

“We thank the State Government for the funding they have provided to make this project possible, and our local community-owned renewable energy provider Hepburn Energy for stepping up as financial and delivery partners for the roll-out of these important community assets,” Cr Hood said.

“The charging stations delivered across our shire not only help to boost tourism to our region, they will assist us in reaching our shire’s zero-net emissions target and further build on Hepburn’s climate action and sustainability culture.”

Chargefox CEO John Sullivan says that having Hepburn Energy and Chargefox working together was a fantastic example of home-grown innovation and collaboration.

”Hepburn has long been a pioneer in community energy, showing what’s possible when like-minded Australians come together to achieve an ambitious goal,” he said.

“This resonates so closely with the Chargefox story which is why we’re so proud to make these chargers available to everyone through the Chargefox platform.”

CCTV surveillance equipment to protect Creswick’s public EV charge station is scheduled for installation this week, Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas has confirmed.

The new 50kW Chargefox station, located beside the town’s visitor Information centre, was taken offline after it was vandalised in August just over three months after becoming operational, much to the disgust of the wider community keen to see progress toward achieving zero-net emissions.

Late last week Mr Thomas confirmed that CCTV equipment is set to be installed this week with  Hepburn Wind (partners in Hepburn shire’s charge station roll-out) expected to then carry out the necessary repairs to the station early in the new year.

“It won’t be up and running for Christmas, unfortunately. Disappointing but obviously we want to get the CCTV in so that it doesn’t happen again or acts as a deterrent, or if it does became vandalised again we might have some opportunity to catch the people,” Mr Thomas said.

“I haven’t got a final cost, but talking to the team, the damage ended up being a bit more costly then we expected, so obviously disappointing. It was a bit more damage then we thought.

“Obviously we want to get people to the regions over Christmas and the new year and you want to be able to encourage people to make that move to EVs. Disappointing all round. We’d rather not have to have CCTV.”

 The Hepburn CEO also confirmed that the similar new fast charge station slated for Trentham will be installed at the town’s new mechanics building, and in line with that project is expected to be in place by mid next year.

The public EV charge station earmarked for Clunes is scheduled for installation in the first quarter of 2024.

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

The Hepburn Shire Council has confirmed that it is working on possible security measures after the new electric vehicle charge station at Creswick was vandalised recently, rendering it currently offline.

Damage is understood to have been done to at least one of the charge guns and Hepburn CEO Bradley Thomas has described it as “very disappointing”.

“The Creswick EV Charger was vandalised a couple of weeks ago and is currently offline while we wait for a quote on repairs and undertake the works,” Mr Thomas said.

“The damage is very disappointing. Council is working on possible security measures given increasing incidences of damage at our facilities and to the EV charger. “

The damage comes as the rate of electric vehicle uptake continues to grow at a significant rate. The number of EVs on Australian roads almost doubled last year, growing from 44,000 at the beginning of 2022 to more than 83,000. Global electric vehicle (EV) sales increased more than 50 per cent from 2021 to 2022.

Words and image Eve Lamb

EV drivers have been well pleased to discover that the new fast charge station at Creswick is finally up and running. For some it can make the difference between getting home – or not.

The Local, using an all electric Nissan Leaf, put it to the test in recent days and found it reasonably fast and in useful proximity to the town’s supermarket across the main road.

The public PlugShare website, that lists the locations of charge stations Australia-wide and provides a constantly updating forum for EV drivers to share vital information, shows the new station has been in steady use since coming online mid-May.

One EV user commented on the PlugShare site: “very handy location especially as there are only 2 AC CCS2 plugs at RACV Goldfields”.

The 50 kW Chargefox station offers CCS/SAE type and CHAdeMO type charging with two dedicated parking spaces, and was installed beside the town’s Albert Street  visitor information centre in December.

It had been expected to be up and running by late February, but Business Development Specialist with Chargefox, Zachary Whittaker confirmed that commissioning had been delayed by a couple of factors.

“This project was delayed due to construction not being finished at the visitor centre and vandalism that occurred just prior to opening,” he told The Local.

The earlier vandalism had included the cutting of thin retractable rope guide lines connected to the charge guns, and some graffiti which had been spray painted in the general area.

The vandalism appeared random, however, and did not appear to have been targeting the new station as it also encompassed wider infrastructure in the immediate area and had since been fixed or cleaned up.

In the May edition of their new sustainable issues e-newsletter, council staff provided some information about the project:

“Council and Hepburn Energy are working together with Chargefox, the Victorian Government, Central Highlands Water and Fells Electrical to install three 50kW fast chargers in Creswick, Trentham and Hepburn Springs.  
“That will take the total number of public EV chargers in the shire to five …
“Watch this space for news on a public launch and full details over the coming months,” the council newsletter states.

Two months after it was scheduled for activation the new public EV charge station at Creswick
remains yet to be activated.
The 50 kW Chargefox station was installed beside the town’s visitor information centre in Albert Street in
December and had been expected to be up and running by late February.
But it still remains to be switched on, leaving local EV users asking “when?” and “why the delay?” as they
fork out the EV Road Users Charge and check the public PlugShare website, that lists locations of charge stations nationwide, for updates.
Both the Hepburn Shire Council and Hepburn Energy, collaborators in the new station’s installation,
declined to speak publicly, citing a “state government embargo”.
However The Local’s various enquiries, including of Chargefox itself, suggest the new station will likely
be activated in the next couple of weeks pending arrangements involving Chargefox and Powercor.
The PlugShare website was listing the new station as “Coming soon” while stating also that “parks have been painted and wiring begun as of 23/12/2022”. Comments posted on the site illustrate EV drivers’ frustration at finding the station still unusable.
Meanwhile the number of charge stations that are operable in Hepburn Shire does include the Creswick
RACV Forest Resort’s 7kw type 2 Chargefox free charge station, while others listed across the shire include:
Daylesford – 25kw Chargefox public charge station, front of town hall, Vincent Street & 22kw Tesla
Destination station, the Lake House, King Street.
Hepburn Springs – Hepburn Springs Recreation Reserve – two slow
charging power outlets on side of building open 24/7;
Peppers spa retreat free 10 amp slow charge wall plug for
hotel guests to use, Tenth Street
Musk – Prani Glow Day Spa 7kw Tesla Destination charger
Lyonville – Radio Springs Hotel Bed & Breakfast 14kw Tesla Destination charger
Newlyn – Newlyn Recreation Reserve, slow charge power point inside toilet block, (power outlet three metre power lead required)
Others in the area include:

Kyneton – 50.065kw Evie Network fast charger in Hutton Street;

Newstead – Newstead Enviro Shop J-1772, type 2 charge station;

Castlemaine – Castlemaine 50.065 Evie Network fast charger, Market Building carpark;
two 10 amp slow charge outlets at Castlemaine Park and Garden parking, Downes Road; 5kw Tesla Destination charge station, Campbell Street Lodge.

Woodend – 50kw Evie Network charger at 124 High Street.

In addition to the still-to-be activated Creswick site, new charge stations are slated for Hepburn Springs and Trentham in coming months after Chargefox secured $159,500 through the state’s Destination Charging Across Victoria Program to install the new 50 kW DC
fast-chargers at the three local locations and Apollo Bay.

Words and Image: Eve Lamb