F.or David Ritchie, installing three car engines for customers at his winery as a “no-brainer”. With a powerful solar array and storage battery coming online, visitors to Delatite Wines will soon be able to drive their EVs to their stunning location in the regional Victoria area and enjoy the sampling tour knowing that they will be charging their car for free. , clean energy for the return trip.
Ritchie is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs starting a wave of eco-tourism based on the availability of EV chargers. Instead of surviving what may be a long wait for the Federal government to embark on a green energy revolution, there are hotels, motels, Airbnb hosts and other hosts. as Ritchie steps up and delivers EV’s mini toll network for Australia.
For the relatively small amount of dollars, Ritchie hopes the carriers will put his winery at Mansfield on maps and apps like Plugshare, used by EV drivers to guide their way around the country.
“We had Tesla chargers but not many people drive Tesla because they are expensive, so we decided to install chargers that can be used with all types of cars,” says Ritchie, who makes about 12,000 bottles of red, white and spicy wine each year.
“It’s a great service for people because there’s no charger for miles around, and it’s a great way to get people into the winery. It also costs almost nothing and we will provide it for free. To me it’s not really good. ”
The carriers that Ritchie and businesses like his own choose are the ones that install AC, or other conventional runners, that usually take an hour or two to support vehicles. There are now nearly 2,000 of them across Australia and, with more than 350 of the much faster, or just conventional, DC public chargers, they serve the country’s 20,000-plus fleet of EVs – nearly half of them added in the 12 months.
While fast chargers can charge battery power in a matter of minutes, they are much more expensive to install – around $ 30,000 instead of $ 2,000 for the ACs. This makes the latter very suitable for a microeconomic model.
EVolution is founded by Russ Shepherd, a Melbourne-based company that supplies and installs cargoes. The company has a fast charging station in Oakley but it is a promotional tool rather than cash, so the easiest commercial proposition is to install AC chargers in homes and businesses.
“We’re very interested in this right now,” he said. “The return on investment for public retailers is very low, especially if places like shopping centers offer free power. ”
Verifying the cost of land and installing a network of DC chargers is challenging for corporate investors, especially since the payment devices in chargers are an expensive add-on cost. So it makes more sense to make them for free, or with an honesty box.
“Drivers go to a certain place with cargoes over there somewhere without cargoes,” Shepherd says. “We have many examples of hotels charging cars and they get immediate calls from drivers asking to check in. We have found it to be very easy to sell and a low cost incentive for local businesses and communities. ”
But it’s not just small businesses that can benefit. Shepherd says EV owners quickly change their behavior depending on where they get extra support.
For example, they have evidence from market research and customer feedback that Westfield in Woden in the ACT equipped with trucks is favored by EV drivers over other nearby Westfield at Belconnen. The other piece of evidence is that the Belconnen center has been in contact with EVolution about installing chargers so that its customers can shop, eat or watch a movie while their car is running. cost.
Cameron Craig, digital marketing officer at Sydney-based tax firm EVSE, has noted the same pattern, noting that the rapid deployment of fast networks by Chargefox and the NRMA is very welcome. , that in the future to get closer to home.
“Centers are getting cost stations but they are not necessarily looking to make money. They want to attract richer customers because they are more likely to be EV drivers, ”he says.
As for an Airbnb-style network where “plug hosts” could cost extra money, he thinks the economy makes it unlikely.
“It’s certainly possible to set up your own home system but electricity isn’t so cheap you can make a lot of money from it,” says Craig. “It’s not commercially viable so you have to look at five to 10 vehicles and people won’t have that place. You only see that scale through advice improvements and apartment blocks. ”
Rob Nicholls, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales business school, says Australia is ripe for the micro-tax version. Even though the country has one of the lowest EVs in the developed world and the same kind of generous subsidies are not offered abroad, such as in the UK or Germany, at Australian homes with the highest proportion of solar power in the world. .
It is then natural to switch from solar to battery power, and then find a use for that electricity.
“What’s next?” Nicholls asks. “Thinking about getting a battery to stabilize that sun and reduce costs”, which could lead to people buying an EV to capture that power.
Domestic storage batteries can come in at $ 10,000, and while new EVs are still relatively expensive, Shepherd says you can pick up second-hand ones for $ 20,000.
Back in Mansfield, Ritchie of Delatite Wines is looking forward to firing up its new solar network in mid – May. He hopes it will soon gain power on a stream of visiting EVs, while their owners enjoy a refurbished kitchen and cellar door that will also run off solar power. He also hopes that the farm’s vehicles will soon have solar power.
“We have two ATVs with electric power [all-terrain vehicles] right now, ”he says. “But as soon as we can get an electric tractor, we will get one. And as soon as I can get an electric appliance, I get one and get rid of my diesel. With future customers, it is in line with our brand and philosophy. ”