Video: ‘Go West Electric Highway’ first EV charger opens

The first charger in a series forming a “Go West Electric Highway” west of Christchurch proceeding to Castle Hill and Arthurs Pass has opened.

The Level 2 7kWh AC destination charger at Darfield Pharmacy car park has been donated by EV City Christchurch owner David Boot and Charged EV owner Simon Wheeler.

It was officially opened by Selwyn District mayor Sam Broughton who says having more such chargers will help people get across to the West Coast. “The uptake of EVs is only growing, and I encourage everyone to think of an EV for their next car,” he says.

Boot says the charger, about 50km west of Christchurch, was inspired by pioneering customers living at the limits of their EV range.

“The Darfield Pharmacy charger should provide a safety net for them and a stepping stone for others traveling further west,” he says.

“EV City and Charged EV will now look to Castle Hill as the location for the next step on the highway west.”

Boot says while these chargers aren’t a replacement for the convenience of Level 3 ‘rapid chargers’, he hopes they will fill a network gap until companies like ChargeNet NZ or other providers deploy the more capital-intensive faster charging infrastructure.

“It’s been a community effort organised by members of the Christchurch Electric Vehicle group, to get the ball rolling on charging infrastructure in the region,” Boot says. “Darfield member and EV enthusiast Jason Dickens was instrumental in getting the interested parties together.”

EV owners and business representatives formed an electric convoy to attend the Darfield ceremony on October 16.

Leading the Charge Christchurch EV champion William Stewart has been among those pushing for a Darfield charger.

“I went all electric this year and it’s been amazing, but the lack of access to the West Coast and ski fields has been a big barrier for me and others,” he says.

Stewart helps run events with the Christchurch Electric Vehicle group and is keen to encourage others to get involved.

“I think something like this really shows what the community can do when we get together and pool resources,” he says.

“We’ve been waiting on Darfield charging for several years, but by getting a bunch of people together we’ve made this happen in just a couple of months. I think it shows how easy it can be to roll out small scale electric charging infrastructure which then paves the way for the bigger guys.”