Australia needs more EV chargers to support regional tourism – this winery shows how

EVs are gaining popularity in Australia, with a doubling in new car sales so far in 2023. The charging infrastructure across major cities is starting to catch up, but there are big gaps in the regions that rely on tourism.

I recently took a trip up to regional Victoria and on the way spotted a DC charger located at a family-owned winery in the heart of Seymour – Wine by Sam.

It was the first time I had come across a DC charger located at a family business that was close to a town next to the Hume Freeway. 

The charger had been installed earlier this year as I confirmed by the Plugshare listing and had both CCS2 and Chademo ports.

It was also faster than most Level 2 AC chargers, rated at 25 kW instead of the standard 7 or 11 kW chargers many of us are used to. 

After plugging in and starting the charge through the Chargefox app, I heard a few clicks and off it went. Looking inside the car, it was getting exactly what the Plugshare listing said – 24 kW!

On the charger itself, I spotted a couple of things that I thought were better than some of the other typical DC chargers we see around.

The first of which is the use of a smaller screen which would help with it not breaking too easily. 

I recall the chargers at Goulburn last year on the way to Canberra where two out of three had a broken screen making it harder to know if they were functioning properly or not. 

It was also surprising to see a wall-mounted DC charger as most DC chargers are standalone or on a post.

After plugging the car in, I decided to get a coffee, and while waiting I learned from the owners about the large solar system that feeds the winery along with the charger. A 100 kW sits above the post-world-war 2 building.

At the time of harvest, most of the equipment inside the winery is being used so it soaks up a lot of the solar energy produced.

While the Hyundai Ioniq charged, I learnt more about the building itself which was once a wool processing plant that has now been converted into a winery by the new owners.

It was great to hear about the support that was given to this innovative business by the support team that worked with Wine By Sam; from Bryce Davies their electrician to NHP Electrical Engineering, the supplier of the charger through their specialist EV team. 

The team also offer wine tasting and functional space for EV clubs to hold events. Here in Victoria, it’s certainly one of the sites I would be recommending to Tesla and other EV owner clubs to visit in the coming months.

Blending the old with the new and future-proofing the site with solar plus EV charging was very refreshing to see in this regional town.

What this experience showed is that charging shouldn’t be limited only to petrol stations when it comes to regional centres. 

Fast charging at local businesses in towns can also be a great way to bring new visitors to the area. That’s one way EV drivers can support regional tourism through tougher economic times ahead.

More needs to be done to support these businesses to transition to offering EV charging and businesses like Wine by Sam is  leading the charge to support EV drivers while bringing new people to the town.