Few would consider an electric vehicle charging station as a tourist attraction. However, in an era of exciting gasoline prices, the popularity of electric vehicles is growing.
Key points:
- Maleny businessmen have teamed up to install electric car charging points on the main street
- The measure aims to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, while attracting more drivers of electric vehicles.
- Australia recorded 20,665 sales of electric vehicles in 2021, compared to 6,900 in 2020
When it comes to capitalizing on environmentally conscious hikers, one Queensland city is making all the stops.
Maleny, in the interior of the Sunshine Coast, now has seven privately owned electric car charging stations, including four on Main Street that were installed earlier this year.
IGA Supermarket, Maple Street Co-op, and property lenders Marek and Libby Malter are part of the group leading the charge.
IGA owner Rob Outridge said his grocery station was always busy, a little too busy at first.
“It was Australia’s most popular charging station because we forgot to connect it to payment systems – the electricity was free,” Outridge said with a laugh.
The electric vehicle charging station at Maple Street Co-op. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Jessica Ross)
Despite the rugged start, it showed that electric car owners are talking, and have been talking about the city.
“They’re looking for places where they can recharge,” Outridge said.
“And Maleny is a long way from Brisbane, so they know they can drive their electric vehicles here, recharge their batteries and be able to move on to the next place.”
“Plug in, go have a coffee”
Graham Dempster has had an electric car for eighteen months.
Maleny’s octogenarian Graham Dempster in his electric car. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Jessica Ross)
“I’m over 80 and I’ve always wondered what I can do to help the environment and the nation,” Dempster said.
“What can you do when you grow up?
“And I just thought you could buy an electric car, so I did.
“It’s great … once you buy it, the running costs are almost zero.”
Although Dempster has a charger at home, he said the stations were well used by visitors.
“One of the big problems has been autonomy … people care about the autonomy that their car will bring them … having stations in the city helps to overcome that concern,” he said.
Maple Street Co-op manager Peter Pamment said he was happy to work with other companies.
“We were already a good way down the track and in fact we had almost installed one, but then that group decided if we were going, let’s all go together,” Pamment said.
Pamment said electric car drivers now had many options.
Maple Street Cooperative Manager Peter Pamment inside his store. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Jessica Ross)
“They’re just getting up, hopefully there’s a space; if there isn’t one, there’s one on the corner and two on the IGA,” he said.
“They can get up, connect, have a coffee, walk around the store.
“Whether they’re here for half an hour or an hour, it’s enough to recharge them to make them feel a little safer.”
The trip from Gold Coast to Maleny costs $ 6
The charging points were installed by E’langa, which has about 100 sites spread across Queensland.
Elanga CEO Billy Wepener said most of them were in the city center, making Maleny’s situation unique.
“Maleny is a place that has set goals to reach zero,” Wepener said.
“They have a strong feeling around them and they are setting a good example.”
“If I have to travel from Gold Coast to Maleny, which I sometimes do, when I get to Maleny I am at 40% of the total capacity of the car.
“This will take me to one of the stations there for about two and a half hours or three hours to charge it to 100%.
Billy Wepener, CEO of Elang (left, pictured with Greg Flanagan) at one of the company’s 100 charging stations. (Supplied by: E’langa)
“So with a 40-kilowatt battery charge it costs … six dollars.”
This contrasts sharply with record gasoline prices of more than $ 2 a liter, seen in Queensland this year.
While electric cars cost more than gasoline cars, Wepener said it was offset in the long run by low maintenance and charging costs.
“In five years you would probably get the same price, if not less, than normal vehicles,” he said.
According to the Electric Vehicle Council, Australia recorded 20,665 electric vehicle sales in 2021, compared to 6,900 in 2020.
Local news directly to your inbox
ABC Sunshine Coast will deliver a summary of the week’s news, stories and photos every Wednesday. Sign up to stay connected.
Posted 56 minutes ago, 56 minutes ago, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 9:58 PM, updated 47 minutes ago, 47 minutes ago, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 10:07 PM