Charging ahead as Wagga EV station delivers 3000 charges in first year

In its first year of operation, Wagga Wagga’s electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station has powered over 3000 vehicles, reflecting the growing demand for charging infrastructure and the rise in popularity of EVs.

The first birthday celebrations were recently attended by Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr, Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Engagement Officer Dan Wigmore, and Tesla Regional Sales Manager Shane Tracy.

The station, which is co-funded by the NSW Government and owned and operated by Tesla, is located at the Quality Hotel Rules Club and has been open to the public since September 2023.

“The future of our planet depends on reducing emissions, and electric vehicles are key to that,” Dr McGirr said.

“And a critical component of that is reducing the emissions from vehicles.”

He praised the government’s efforts to improve the availability of EV charging infrastructure, particularly in rural and regional areas where distance remains a critical issue.

“This program of encouraging communities to install charges and businesses and individuals to install these charges to make them available to the public is a critical component, especially in rural and regional areas,” said Dr McGirr.

“I know there’s a desire to boost tourism in Wagga, the Snowy Valleys, and Lockhart.

“People are coming here on holidays, and we want them to bring their electric vehicles, but we will need the superchargers.

Mayor Tout said the government and Wagga Wagga City Council had policies that aligned.

“We have targets for corporate net zero emissions by 2040 and community-wide net zero by 2050,” Cr Tout said. “This target aligns with the state government’s as well.

“Growing a town, a city or a village, nothing will work unless the infrastructure is in place.

“We need the infrastructure in rural and regional areas; otherwise, people won’t make the trips.”

Cr Tout has also challenged the State Government to roll out the superchargers as fast as possible.

Mr Wigmore said it was rewarding to witness the benefits the superchargers had brought to the community.

“We aim to make NSW the easiest place in Australia to own and operate an electric vehicle,” Mr Wigmore said.

“Electric vehicles benefit the environment and support local economies by increasing tourism and creating new job opportunities.

“Our goal is to make EV ownership accessible to everyone and to support a sustainable future.”

Mr Tracy said Tesla’s investment in expanding the network was a testament to its dedication to enabling electric vehicle ownership for all.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of this revolution and are excited to share our plans for the future with you,” said Mr Tracy.

“We will soon have 100 fast charging stations across Australia, including 600 stalls.

“[In] NSW, we’re committed to delivering 38 sites with 261 stalls.”

Wagga Wagga will soon have an additional EV fast charging station with four bays, co-funded by BP and due to be installed by early 2025.

With charging times as short as 10-15 minutes, the Wagga Wagga station has delivered about 100,000 kWh of renewable energy to electric vehicles.

The EV fast charging community events aim to educate and inform local communities and stakeholders about EVs’ benefits and promote the fast charging stations.

All fast charging stations funded by the program provide access to all EVs and will be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy.

They include accessible bays and will have ‘uptime’ levels at international best practice levels to ensure that chargers are working and available when drivers come to the site.

Applications for the $54 million, round three of the grant are open until 3 October and prioritise charging infrastructure in regional NSW.

Seven other sites with 15 charge ports across Wagga Wagga have also been co-funded by the NSW Government under the EV Destination Charging grant program.