Australian Tesla Model S driver taps wind energy on Queensland road trip

Intrepid Australian Tesla driver and renewable energy enthusiast, Marc Talloen, took green car ownership to new heights over the weekend, recharging his Model S at a wind farm in Queensland’s far north, on a road trip to Cape Tribulation.

Talloen – who earlier this year drove his electric vehicle from Brisbane to Sydney via Canberra, and documented the adventure for RenewEconomy – detoured by Ratch Australia’s Windy Hill wind farm for a charge on Friday, as part of a broader effort to promote EV and renewable energy uptake.

According to the Cairns Post, Talloen started his most recent electric road trip in Queensland’s south east early this month, and has so far recharged at Gin Gin, Rockhampton, Airlie Beach, Mission Beach, Palm Cove, Mossman and Yungaburra.

Whenever possible, however, Talloen says he likes to “fill up” at alternative energy providers, such as the wind farm in Ravenshoe – where a three-phase, 5-pin industrial socket allowed him to do so in three hours – in keeping with the environmental ideology he says drove his decision to go electric.

“The Tesla Model S is the car of the future fast-tracked to today, and it is changing consumer perceptions of what an electric car is and should be,’’ he told Cairns Post. “It has luxury looks, drives like a sports car, and has extraordinary acceleration.

“The software gets regularly updated, offering improved performance, additional functions and safety features.

“But environmental ideology is the strongest argument.

“I hope that my road trip will promote electric cars as a viable means of environmentally friendly transport.”

The former agricultural engineer said there was plenty of scope within the Far North for growth within the electric car sector.

“From Cairns you can visit so many other places, and they’re all within reachable distances,’’ he said. “I hope that having more Teslas on the road may draw more people to electric vehicles and that an increased demand will help to improve affordability towards the future.”

Logistically speaking, long-distance EV driving should soon be made much easier, as electric charging and fast-charging networks are planned and rolled out all over the country.

Last week we reported that the RAC had installed a 310km network of 12 electric vehicle fast charging stations in Western Australia, connecting Perth to Augusta, which could fully charge an EV in just 30 minutes.

And this weekend, reports emerged from Queensland that the state government had called for expressions of interest to build Australia’s first electric car charging station in Townsville, as the first in a string of stations to be built along the Bruce Highway.

The company announced on Wednesday the launch of its Fast Cities Network initiative: a proposed network of EV fast chargers linking 430km of highway in Queensland’s south-east, to create Australia’s largest “electric super highway”.

The stations would, presumably, be in line with the already planned Fast Cities Network, which will see 12 of Australian company Tritium’s industry-leading Veefil fast chargers installed at points linking 430km of highway in Queensland’s south-east.