Construction has begun on the world’s longest electric vehicle (EV) highway, with the town of Kalbarri to the north of Perth to host the first new charger on the Western Australian EV Network.
The WA government announced on Wednesday that installation of the first charging stations is underway at Kalbarri as well as Northampton, with construction expected to start at the Geraldton site next week.
Expected to cover more than 6,600 kilometres across the mammoth stretches of Western Australia, the WA EV Network will boast 98 chargers located across 49 locations. It will extend from Kununurra in the north, to Esperance in the south, and east out to Eucla, near the border with South Australia on the Nullabor.
The first sites are expected to be operational early in the New Year, with construction on the remaining locations across the state to continue throughout 2023.
“The McGowan Government is excited to see construction start on this State-led project being managed by Synergy and Horizon Power,” said Bill Johnston, WA’s energy minister.
“There will be no more than 200 kilometres between each charger, reducing range anxiety and allowing electric vehicle owners to explore our amazing State.
“Installation of the chargers at Kalbarri, Northampton and Geraldton will be done by Hamersley Electrical Contracting, a regional WA company specialising in work on renewable energy assets.”
The WA government has worked steadily over the last few months to secure contracts necessary to build out its massive EV charging network.
Melbourne-based EV supply and installation expert Jet Charge was tagged in August to provide “hardware solutions” for the chargers, while Finnish company Kempower and Queensland-based Tritium were signed to supply the chargers.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.