Hundreds of EVs for state sector

A total 422 new EVs and added charging infrastructure across the state sector will come from $13.1 million funding.

The announcement from Climate Change minister James Shaw will see $5.1m go to the Conservation Department (DOC) to buy 148 EVs and install associated charging, while $1.1m will help Kāinga Ora do the same with 40 EVs.

DOC will invest $5.127m and Kainga Ora $1.126m from their own budgets.

The move is expected to save about 11,600 tonnes of carbon emissions over 10 years, accelerating the Government’s plan for a carbon neutral public sector by 2025.

“The conversion of Government fleets also means more demand for electric vehicles, which will start flowing through into the secondhand market, making electric vehicles more accessible for everyone,” Shaw says.

Funding for the EVs and charging infrastructure will come from the Government’s $200 million State Sector Decarbonisation Fund (administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), a key tool for supporting public sector agencies to be carbon neutral by 2025.

“I think if you ask most people working for Government agencies, they’ll tell you that when they get back from a day visiting a conservation site benefiting from the Government’s jobs for nature funding, or from seeing a family living in a new Kāinga Ora home, they’d prefer to refuel for the next day with electricity rather than petrol,” Shaw adds.

“This will soon be the case for many more of our essential public sector workers. It will also mean these trips are helping meet the Government’s emission reduction targets.

“Electric vehicles are much better for the climate than those powered by fossil fuels,” he explains.

“Over the life of a typical electric vehicle, the emissions comparison with an internal combustion engine (ICE) isn’t even close. Electric vehicles are also much are cheaper to run than petrol cars.”

Acting Conservation minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says the funding will help DOC to remove 490 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per annum from its vehicle fleet emissions profile.

“That’s a 19% reduction over DOC’s vehicle fleet emissions compared to the 2018/19 financial year.

“Combined with other DOC vehicle emission reduction programmes, the total projected reduction is 26% once all the electric vehicles are on road.”

Agencies are required to purchase battery electric vehicles (BEVs), or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) if a BEV is not appropriate for the proposed use.

Recipients of the latest funding include:

• $4.306m for the Northland District Health Board (DHB) to lease 150 EVs and install charging infrastructure, the DHB investing $4.306m from its own budget – reducing carbon emissions by around 3840 tonnes over 10 years.

• $0.983m for the New Zealand Defence Force to procure 32 EVs (a mix of leasing and buying) and install charging infrastructure (plus $1.380m from its own budget), cutting carbon emissions by about 1050 tonnes in 10 years.

• $0.493m for Te Puni Kōkiri to buy 16 EVs and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.511m from its own budget), expected to reduce carbon emissions by around 363 tonnes over 10 years.

• $0.108m for Statistics New Zealand to buy four EVs and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.108m from its own budget), saving 78 tonnes in carbon emissions over 10 years.

• $0.096m for Scion to buy three EV and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.105m from its own budget), saving about 65 tonnes of carbon over 10 years.

• $0.084m for the Education Ministry to lease three EVs and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.084m from its own budget), saving about 64 tonnes of carbon in 10 years.

• $0.758m for ACC to buy 25 EVs and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.758m from its own budget), reducing carbon emissions by about 350 tonnes in 10 years.

• $0.029m for Hawke’s Bay DHB to buy one EV and install charging infrastructure (plus $0.032m from its own budget) reducing carbon emissions by about 36 tonnes over 10 years.