ACT in talks to roll out electric vehicle charging network

The ACT government has revealed plans to roll out a network of electric vehicle recharging stations as part of its effort to slash the territory’s emissions to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

ACT environment minister Simon Corbell said on Tuesday that the government was talking to network operator ActewAGL about battery charging points across a range of locations, including key interstate roads, in the hope of boosting consumer uptake of EVs.

The Canberra Times reports that, according to Corbell, ActewAGL is keen to invest in the infrastructure, but the minister has offered no details yet on the number of charging points being considered, or the cost of the rollout.

“We will need to focus much more strongly on emissions coming from the transport sector … and electric vehicles have to be part of that response,” he said, after the release of a review of the government’s progress on its 2012 action plan on climate change.

“… ActewAGL is very supportive of looking at investments it can make to bring forward battery charging across the city.”

As we have noted on RE before, the ACT – with Corbell as the driving force – has been a leading light in renewable energy and climate policy in Australia, with a renewable energy target of 90 per cent by 2020 alongside its equally ambitious 2020 emissions target.

In 2014-15, 18.5 per cent of the city’s energy came from renewables, and emissions were 24 per cent higher than in 1989-90.

But while Monday’s progress report shows the territory is on track to meet its renewables target, it has predicted it will fall short of its greenhouse gas target, largely because of transport and waste emissions.

According to projections, transport will be Canberra’s big emitter in 2020, responsible for 54 per cent of the city’s emissions, with waste in second place at 18 per cent.

The review also suggests the ACT government consider changing its base year for emissions reduction in line with national targets, to from 1990 to 2005. The Climate Council has recommended a new target of a 55-70 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2025.