The Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) has unveiled its inaugural charging station award. And the winning location isn’t in any of the major cities – or even a small one.
AEVA was formed after the oil price shocks of 1973 and according to the Association, is the longest continuously running electromobility society in the world.
At its Annual General Meeting in Hobart, a winner was chosen based on previous nominations from members that were then whittled down to a final eight from which the champion was selected.
The winner of the best charging station in Australia is the RAA site at Snowtown. Located in South Australia’s Mid-North, Snowtown is around 150 kilometres from Adelaide and had a population of 425 in the 2021 Census. The station offers 200kW fast DC charging with three CCS2 plugs and one CHAdeMO plug, and a 7kW AC charger.
So, what made Snowtown a winner? Features include shaded parking bays (it can get *really* hot in Snowtown), good lighting, a priority bay for those with disabilities and pull-through parking for EVs that are towing. Additionally, the station is adjacent to a roadhouse with a shop and toilets – Shell Snowtown Roadhouse, aka Perry’s Roadhouse, which is open 5.00am – 10pm, 7 days a week.
“EV drivers want to stop and recharge somewhere nice. Shade, toilets, a cafe – things motorists have come to expect from a service station” said Dr Chris Jones, AEVA national president.
The Snowtown station’s location and other details can be found on SQ’s public EV charger map. It covers all of Australia and is powered by Plugshare, which also offers a free phone app. In unfortunate timing, it seems two of the station’s ports were having issues yesterday according to a couple of Plugshare user reports.
RAA Charge SA Rollout
In collaboration with the South Australian Government, RAA has been building out South Australia’s first border-to-border network of EV charging stations that should be completed by the end of this year. A $12 million State Government grant helped fund the project.
Powered by (net) 100% renewable energy, 98% of stations are situated less than 200 kilometres apart, and 75% of the locations are in regional SA.
“Having delivered more than 530 plugs at 142 sites across South Australia, we are incredibly proud of the impact that the RAA Charge network is having in opening our regional roads for EV drivers,” said RAA CEO Nick Reade.
RAA partnered with Chargefox on the project. In 2022, Chargefox was wholly acquired by Australian Motoring Services (AMS), which is owned by the Mobility Clubs of Australia (NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, and RACT).
How Much Does RAA EV Charging Cost?
Pricing varies depending on type and time of charging. For destination (7kW) sites at the time of writing:
- Evening peak (5pm-10pm): 32c/kWh
- Standard (all other times) 25c/kWh
These have Type 2 sockets and you’ll need your own cable.
If you have a need for speed, the rates for rapid (150kW) and Ultra-rapid (200kW) RAA charging sites (no cable needed) are:
- Evening peak: 73c/kWh
- Standard: 64c/kWh
RAA increased rapid/ultra-rapid pricing by 5c/kWh in early October. Those peak rates are rather expensive, but RAA members can get 10% off at selected ultra-rapid EV charging stations by adding their RAA membership number to the Chargefox app. Whether the discount applies to the Snowtown station, I’m not sure. There’s also mention of 50kW stations in the RAA network, but I couldn’t find pricing on those.
By the way, to learn everything you need to know about keeping your EV topped up whether at home or out and about, check out the SolarQuotes EV Charging 101 Guide.
In other recent RAA news, last week the organisation took the wraps off its members-only electricity plan. On a related note, RAA Energy is a trading name of electricity retailer Energy Locals Pty Ltd; which was acquired by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners in 2018. Quinbrook announced yesterday it had agreed to sell Energy Locals to a consortium led by Palisade Impact.
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Is Chargefox profitable and earning a return on its investments or are ‘the Mobility Clubs of Australia’ opting to subsidise EVs?
I certainly wasn’t aware the ‘MCoA’ had invested funds in such fashion. I wonder how many others are likewise unaware? If the investment works, fine, but if it’s a cost on members …
While 200 km apart for charging stations is perhaps not a problem for tourists, it does still mean you have to go a long way out of your way if you’re an ordinary driver just needing a top up that can’t be done at home. And given the average is about 35 km/day, having to drive 50+ km specially to get to an EV recharge station is fairly extreme. Love or loathe them, but petrol stations tend to be far far more common, and since ICEVs tend to offer far greater range … : – )
Hi George,
I think motoring clubs see it as essential infrastructure, so they’re getting on with rolling out more charging.
With some luck we’ll get stations much closer than 200km apart as they proliferate.
There’s certainly a lot more power points than petrol stations, and more power plants than petrol refineries, so things are on the up.
Fast chargers should offer adhoc discounts based on wholesale prices – maybe have a board out the front with prices? I’ve heard that consumers have some exposure to this type of practice…
As an example, last Sunday during the day the wholesale price in SA averaged -$50/MWh (that’s negative) so charging customers the equivalent of $640/MWh during that time doesn’t make much sense..
That’s a brilliant idea Andrew,
People will line up around the block for cheap petrol when you have a sign out the front…