Greater Shepparton charging toward future of electric cars

‘‘In the next 12 months, we’ll be seeing these things in Greater Shepparton,’’ he said, adding the council had taken part in some investigative work for the issue.

But he conceded the ubiquity and the supply of electric cars will likely have to increase first.

‘‘The sooner we can get a network of power points through our area the better,’’ Mr Harriott said.

‘‘It’s all very well putting in the points ... The availability of electric vehicles at the moment is not quite what it needs to be.’’

Commenting that a wide range of electric vehicles was not yet being imported into the country, Mr Harriott said the region probably needed the market to mature a bit before going too hard on it.

‘‘As soon as we can get some points established, the better.

‘‘I can see council moving to take a leading position on this before too long.’’

Mr Harriott said the council was looking at the possibility of charging points for its fleet of pool vehicles making short trips around town.

For longer trips, however, it was more a question of logistics.

‘‘It’s just logistics to some extent, you’ve got to find one, how long to recharge to get from A to B to C,’’ Mr Harriott said.

‘‘I’m think we can kick it off before too long.

‘‘We need a better range of (electric) vehicles and (electric) vehicles with better range ... before we go too far down this track.’’

In October, Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio opened an ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging station in Euroa, set to form part of a network.

The site, at the service centre off the Hume Hwy at Euroa, is to be powered by solar, battery storage and 350kW charging combinations, dramatically reducing charging time for drivers.

Ms D’Ambrosio at the time said the station was capable of delivering up to 400km of range in just 15 minutes.

In 2017, 13kW chargers were installed at Tallis Winery in Dookie by Tesla Australia at no cost to the winery.

Tallis co-owner Richard Tallis at the time said it was a win-win for the business and it could open it up to a new client base.

‘‘(Tesla) installed it all for us and supplied all the equipment,’’ Mr Tallis said.

‘‘Hopefully people come here, charge their cars and enjoy Tallis as a destination while they are waiting.’’