The EV highway – Northland’s EV expansion

This story first appeared in the March issue of EVTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Wellington was the first region to have public electric vehicle charging in New Zealand, and significant investment is now being made in Auckland infrastructure – but which region is the leader in accommodating plug-in vehicles?

It would be hard to find a region that has prepared more for the future than Northland, which has one of the most comprehensive charging networks in the country.

So how has a semi-rural, and hardly wealthy, region come to prominence in the EV rollout? The answer is the local lines company Northpower – which like Vector in Auckland is a consumer trust, feeding its profits back into the community.

Northpower has 1200 staff, and as well as covering the Kaipara and Whangarei regions, offers network services under contract throughout the North Island, West Australia and the Pacific.

According to public affairs manager Steve Macmillan, the decision to develop charging infrastructure stemmed from Northpower’s roll out of the Ultra-Fast Broadband fibre network in Whangarei.

“A big part of our mandate and ethos is to enable the community,” Macmillan explains. “We saw what was happening with fibre, how it was enabling people, and we thought let’s give them options for electric vehicles.”

New Zealand’s first fast-charger, in central Whangarei, was opened by communications minister Amy Adams in May 2014.

“We put the first fast charge station based out of our Alexander Street substation in the CBD of Whangarei powered by the Wairua hydro power station, which is turning 100 in September,” Macmillan explains. “It’s one of the oldest hydro schemes in the country and generates enough electricity to power 3500 average residential homes.”

To get the market running, the company worked with Christchurch-importer EV imports to put EVs on its fleet, and then in the hands of others.

“We put one, for example, in the hands of the Manaia PHO, which runs the Healthy Homes project, with backing from Northpower and others, insulating homes throughout Northland,” he says. “We now have eight EVs on our fleet.”

There have been discussions that the Northpower-sponsored Northland Emergency Services Trust may acquire an EV for its own use.

“We have just introduced our first EV van (the Nissan e-NV200) for our community liaison officer to use. Now our fibre installers want to switch to the same model.”

With one charger and a growing fleet, Northpower began to expand their network with destination chargers, adding 11 destination charging units at five locations on their own network.

“At that point we said that was going to be it for us, but now we have started installing fast chargers for Charge.net.nz,” he says.

The network has spurred businesses in the region to install their own chargers.
“A lot of people are starting to do it themselves – Educare for example – and that’s great, that’s what we want.”

The lines-company hasn’t ruled out installing more.

Macmillan says the impetus for the venture has come from network planning engineer Russell Watson, and network general manager Graeme Dawson.

“Russell and Graeme have really pioneered it for Northpower, backed by the board of directors, and the Northpower Trust, who have quickly seen the impact on the community.

“They say ‘build it and they (EVs) will come’, and it seems that way with the infrastructure.

The region has more than 60 plug-in vehicles, many of them sold by Whangarei-dealer Cashback Cars, big proponents of vehicles such as the Leaf.

Macmillan notes at two charger openings (Dargaville and Kaiwaka), customers drove away in cars purchased from the dealer.

“Cashback Cars, and good on them, and others, have started to ride off the back of the publicity and the push that Northpower, Joe Camuso from the Northland Regional Council and others – such as Charge.net and the REV-UP group – have given EVs.

“What we are trying to do is make it really easy for people to understand and know where things are in terms of the charge stations, charge times and what the capabilities of the cars are.”

Northpower has undertaken run-out tests on their cars, and continues to work with the University of Canterbury on research – most recently on the ideal portable EV charger for helping motorists who run out of charge between EV stations.

This work has dove-tailed into initial discussions with the Automobile Association in developing ways EVs can be helped by roadside assistance services.

Are Aucklander’s with EVs being drawn to the region by the network?

“They are because they can charge their cars with ease when they are heading to their Northland bach for the weekend – and these are often people with money,”

Macmillan notes. “We see it as a good thing for the north.

“Having -fast charging points at Kaiwaka, Dargaville, Tikipunga and Kawakawa – that Steve and Dee from Charge.net have put in in less than six months – along with multiple other charge points in the region, is making it easy and accessible for Aucklanders to get up here – and for Northlanders to head south.

It has taken the pain factor, the what-if factor, away.”

Macmillan indicates they don’t expect the government to assist in the development of charging networks.

“Why should they give us a handout,” he explains. “If they think it’s good for New Zealand Inc, good on them. Simon Bridges will step up and do it, but I think we have proven that we can do it ourselves. Mind you, a move to EV fleets for central and local government would be a great way to fast track a roll-over of EVs into the second hand vehicle market as those fleets are rolled over in years to come.”