It seems that electric vehicle fast charging is coming of age, in more ways than one. No longer are they just considered an afterthought, hidden at the back of petrol stations or in the bowels of shopping centre car parks where a signal can barely be achieved to engage with the app.
Well, at least not in some places.
One of my major gripes in the more than four years and 130,000 kms of EV driving in Australia has been the lack of shade at nearly every outdoor EV charging bay, in contrast to the vast canopies afforded to the fossil fuel mob (and some pretty good set-ups in more EV-advanced countries in Europe).
And, as I complained earlier this year to Ampol Australian CEO Matt Halliday, there have not even been some basics, such as a bin, or some water to wash the windows with.
Credit then to Ampol for doing something about it. Whether it was always in the works doesn’t really matter – and clearly the major infrastructure was – but in my first visit to the newly redeveloped Ampol Pheasants Nest site on the Hume Highway south of Sydney, it was impressive to see all those features in place.
Multiple charging bays, big bays, shade from the rooftop solar panels that presumably provide some power to the EV chargers, and, yes, a bin, a bucket of water and a wiper to clean the windows.
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, and prove that the provision of EV charging equipment is more than just a gesture. So, well done Ampol. Now, about those petrol bowsers ….
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.