Regional Victoria to receive 15 new electric car charging locations

It comes courtesy of a $664,000 state government project, which will see more than 15 charging stations installed in towns across the state's north west.

In an effort to bolster local economies and promote "green tourism", the towns of Ouyen, Swan Hill, Kerang, Maryborough and Echuca, plus several smaller yet-to-be-confirmed locations, will receive charging sites.

The rollout will begin in early November 2020 and will be overseen by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, with each charging site expected to house a mix of several 25-50kW DC fast chargers.

Whether or not motorists will have to pay to use the stations will be at the discretion of each local government authority.

The latest funding injection is part of the state government's $2.7 billion Building Works package, which aims to create jobs, support supply chains and pump money back into the local economy.

The 15 charging sites will build on the $3 million already invested by the Victorian Government to set up 30 electric car charging stations in Euroa, Barnawartha North, Moe, Torquay, Ballarat, Horsham and Melbourne.

“The new electric vehicle charging stations will put this region on the map for electric vehicles – connecting Melbourne to Mildura and unlocking north west Victoria for electric vehicle tourists and locals alike," the Victorian Minister for Energy, the Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, said, in a statement.

“More Victorians will be driving electric vehicles in the future, that’s why we’re building the infrastructure to meet this demand.”

The Victorian state government is currently working on a Zero Emissions Vehicle Roadmap, to be released later this year, which will outline a transition to electric cars in order to achieve its target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

The New South Wales government released a similar strategy earlier this year with its Net Zero Plan, which promised to remove "unnecessary barriers" to electric car uptake, like higher purchase prices and access to off-street charging.