As part of the NSW Government initiative to install EV chargers throughout the state, the Inner West Council has secured funding to install 136 kerbside electric vehicle chargers throughout the streets of Annandale, Leichhardt, Marrickville and Balmain.
In a communication to residents, Mayor Darcy Byrne said the project was “another huge step forward in making the Inner West the most sustainable community in Australia.”
“This is the culmination of our years of work and advocacy on our EV strategy and will make the Inner West the easiest place in the nation to use an electric vehicle,” stated Byrne in the announcement.
“This public / private partnership will be funded by NSW Government grants, secured because of the quality of our proposal and plans.”
One of the partners in the rollout is EVSE and they have been in several kerbside charging projects across the state.
“We are very excited to be involved in the Kerbside charging grant, and to provide much needed community facilities in an area of Sydney with some of the highest uptakes of EVs. This is about providing facilities in an area where off-street parking is not available to most residents,” Sam Korkees, Co-Founder at EVSE, told Fleet EV News.
“Our team is working on technology to lower the cost of charging, making charging even more accessible. We aim to provide a community feel to the chargers and locations.”
The chargers will be a combination of 7kW, 22kW and 60kW that will be pole mounted and kiosk style. The locations are scattered around the Inner West council area were selected based on a number of factors including:
- Capacity of the electrical grid
- Areas with high EV uptake and low access to off-street parking
- Minimise the inconvenience for residents
- Safety and accessibility requirements
A large scale installation of kerbside chargers is designed to encourage new car buyers across the Inner West to purchase electric vehicles with confidence knowing that there is an option to charge the battery with a short distance of their home.
One key element of the rollout is the mix of dedicated and non-dedicated EV charging bays. This is a new concept that is used in Europe for kerbside charging to avoid a reduction in parking spaces for local residents with ICE vehicles. It will be an interesting to see how the locals manage ‘charging etiquette’ during the transition phase over the next decade.
All chargers in this project will be installed by April 2025 and be available to the public 24/7 however there is no information on the billing system or cost to charge at this stage.
For more information visit the Inner West Council website.
