New Zealand to fund 15 EV projects

TINNews |

The Government of New Zealand is set to fund 15 projects across the country in order to increase charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as switch more trucks, buses and vans to electric power.

The projects will be funded under the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

New Zealand Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins said: “The projects we announced today show there’s an electric vehicle for almost every job, be it rental cars, waste trucks or courier vans. These options make more sense because of how cheap electric vehicles are to run and maintain and how easy they are to charge.

“We are investing nearly $1m in charging infrastructure with projects on key tourism routes, including Christchurch to Picton, Dunedin to Queenstown, and Queenstown to Invercargill.

"The projects we announced today show there’s an electric vehicle for almost every job, be it rental cars, waste trucks or courier vans."

“Also in the mix are exciting developments, such as installing street charging for Wellington residents who don’t have a driveway or garage, and chargers that give buses a boost as they stop for passengers.”

Collins also stated that the announced projects were conditionally approved under the second funding round to receive NZ$3m ($2.1m), and the next round of funding will be opened with a further NZ$3m ($2.1m).

The funding is part of 14 initiatives taken up by the government’s Electric Vehicles Programme, which aims to double the numbers of EVs every year to reach 64,000 by the end of 2021.

Projects under the first round of funding are underway and some charging stations are already in public use.