EV Charger News

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Wannabe Geek

#2087150 10-Sep-2018 20:12

Darfield Charger news... and Arthurs Pass pass

Hi All,

I have just bought a 2016 Leaf X.. and will use it to commute from Darfield into Christchurch ( 80 -90 k/day)

I have seen on plugshare etc about the Charger in Darfield being "under construction"

I talked today with the Challenge Garage Owner about this as I had seen a post, (on NoseyBook) about "Resource consent" issues stopping it.

It seems that the Commerce Commission is not happy with Orion being the power supplier and retailer with these charging stations.

So Orion has stopped putting an any more chargers in Canterbury.

So until that is sorted out Darfield, Castle Hill, Arthurs Pass and Otira Planned chargers, will remain imaginary.

I am a bit disappointed but understand some of the rules.

I was hoping to be able to get to the West Coast in one QC charge stop (within the next few months).

So fingers crossed that we can trek through the mountains shortly...

Thanks to you all on here - the information and help offered has been most encouraging to me to jump in and purchase..

Cheers Keith..

wellygary

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#2087156 10-Sep-2018 20:25

Keefa:

It seems that the Commerce Commission is not happy with Orion being the power supplier and retailer with these charging stations.

So Orion has stopped putting an any more chargers in Canterbury.

in May 2018 the Commerce commission wrote this to Network operators,

https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2018/open-letter-to-better-understand-emerging-technologies-in-monopoly-parts-of-electricity-sector

saying

"The main purpose of EV chargers is to charge cars, not transport electricity. Therefore, our starting point is that we do not expect the costs associated with chargers to be included in their regulated asset bases, as they are not a cost of providing regulated services that consumers ultimately pay for through their power bills,”

So basically they are saying the EV chargers must cover their own costs...

I'm guessing Orion were planning on doing somethign similar to Vector and allowing free or low cost chagring.....

iambobthefish

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Geek

#2128455 17-Nov-2018 13:11

Does anyone have any news on either the Foxton or Bulls chargers?

iambobthefish

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Geek

#2204659 25-Mar-2019 12:43

Finally...Chargenet has listed Bulls for an April opening - no bull!

freitasm

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#2204847 25-Mar-2019 20:14

From Wellington City Council:

15 EV chargers for the suburbs

This will enable those people who don’t have off-street parking and are unable to charge their vehicles at home to buy and operate an electric car. More than 17,000 Wellington properties face this obstacle to recharging.

This initiative is part of a two-year pilot that will assess whether there is a viable market for slow charging in the residential streets of Wellington.

“We have a number of charging stations in the CBD but residential charging stations will mean EVs could be a practical option for Wellingtonians wanting to make the switch to them,” says Mayor Justin Lester.

Transport Portfolio Leader Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman sees this as a positive step to reducing our carbon emissions.

“Road transport currently contributes 38 percent of the city’s emissions. We want to help Wellingtonians to make good, environmentally friendly choices by making charging facilities available to those who could not otherwise access them.”

Last year the Council asked Wellingtonians who were interested in purchasing electric vehicles in the near future where they thought chargers should be available. They received over 80 requests. Following further consultation, 15 of the 17 locations put forward were confirmed by Councillors yesterday.

Typically they are located in areas with little off-street parking such as Newtown and Aro Valley and also includes a location outside Wellington Zoo, so people can charge while they visit one of the city’s most popular destinations.

As part of yesterday’s decision, the Council will work with residents to identify a further 10 charging locations.

Users will pay to use the chargers and receive a text message encouraging them to move on after charging is completed.

Installation is expected to start before July. Wellington City Council, ChargeNet NZ and EECCA are running the project in partnership. The Council and ChargeNet NZ are each contributing 25 pecent and EECA is providing 50 percent of the cost.

Sites approved yesterday

Rodney St
Holloway Rd
Epuni St
Miramar North Rd
Hornsey Rd
Jackson St
Melbourne Rd
Coromandel St near 66
Coromandel St near 4
Wright St
Karepa St
Stanley St
Hall St
Austin St
Manchester St, near Wellington Zoo
Two sites were not approved but will be revisited later: Bank Rd and Mersey St

Linuxluver

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#2261635 20-Jun-2019 19:33

iambobthefish: Does anyone have any news on either the Foxton or Bulls chargers?

Steve and Dee West ("ChargeNet") announced today (20/06/19) that a ChargeNet DC charger will be live at Bulls "in July". So only 10 days to 6 weeks away. UPDATE: The ChargeNet map says "end of July". https://charge.net.nz/map/ (click on the Bulls icon).

This one is the 'Great White Whale' for all EV drivers with sub-40kWh batteries. In other words.......most. We'll no longer need to detour to Palmy to charge up to get the Mangaweka. Of course if you have a bigger battery EV, you've never had to do that anyway. All new EVs have bigger batteries. I think 40kWh is the smallest anyone is selling new in NZ these days (Oh! Except for the Hyundai Ioniq at 28kWh and very good efficiency).

We're almost there. I'll post again when it's actually live as things can still get held up at the last minute......

Video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/By4YU0MH2xX/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

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iambobthefish

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#2286853 31-Jul-2019 21:56

Linuxluver:

iambobthefish: Does anyone have any news on either the Foxton or Bulls chargers?

Steve and Dee West ("ChargeNet") announced today (20/06/19) that a ChargeNet DC charger will be live at Bulls "in July". So only 10 days to 6 weeks away. UPDATE: The ChargeNet map says "end of July". https://charge.net.nz/map/ (click on the Bulls icon).

This one is the 'Great White Whale' for all EV drivers with sub-40kWh batteries. In other words.......most. We'll no longer need to detour to Palmy to charge up to get the Mangaweka. Of course if you have a bigger battery EV, you've never had to do that anyway. All new EVs have bigger batteries. I think 40kWh is the smallest anyone is selling new in NZ these days (Oh! Except for the Hyundai Ioniq at 28kWh and very good efficiency).

We're almost there. I'll post again when it's actually live as things can still get held up at the last minute......

Video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/By4YU0MH2xX/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

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Linuxluver

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#2286938 1-Aug-2019 09:07

The charger at Bulls is physically installed. They are waiting for the power to be turned on.

Meanwhile, Feilding was recently enabled, meaning you don't have to detour all the way to downtown Palmy to get a fast charge.

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Jeeves

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Ultimate Geek

#2287093 1-Aug-2019 12:34

I continue to wonder how charge net makes a profit. Each charger looks to cost somewhere between $50-80k to install. They charge about 25c kw/h - let's say the electricty cost is half that, so gross profit is say 12c kw/h. If the average charge session is say 20kw/h, thats around $2.40 profit per charge. Each charge station would need over 20,000 charges before the capex is paid off. If we average i dunno, 5 charges per day - that's 4,166 days, or 11 years!

That's not including depreciation, maintenance, staff, IT costs, billing blah blah blah.

I can only assume my figures are way off or they are getting some decent subsidies, as that's a pretty ordinary pay back period.

SaltyNZ

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#2287098 1-Aug-2019 12:44

Jeeves:

I can only assume my figures are way off or they are getting some decent subsidies, as that's a pretty ordinary pay back period.

They do get some of the government contestable funding for some installations at least, and given that a lot of their chargers are in New World carparks I would boldly assume NW probably gives them a bit towards those too. But yes: this is definitely a long term investment for them.

Personally I think Vector should start charging for their stations. That would be annoying in the short term (no more free charging!) but it will help to make ChargeNet more viable which is in all our best interests in the long run.

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These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

tripper1000

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#2287151 1-Aug-2019 14:13

Many kiwi's claim to be environmental but fail to walk the talk when action is going to cost them a dollar to two.

There are a bunch of overseas fast-charging companies who aim to break the chicken or the egg scenario when it comes to EV's and chargers - that is the cycle where people are not buying EV's because there are not enough charging stations and companies not building charge stations because there are not enough EV's.

I've always assumed that Charge Net one of these negative-cycle-breaking companies that is funded by individuals or companies who are prepared to actually put their money into the betterment of the environment.

KiwiME

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Master Geek

#2287403 1-Aug-2019 23:00

Jeeves:
I continue to wonder how charge net makes a profit. ... They charge about 25c kwh - let's say the electricty cost is half that, so gross profit is say 12c kw/h. If the average charge session is say 20kwh, thats around $2.40 profit per charge.

You’re aware they charge by the minute as well, $0.25? On a 50kW DC rapid charger the best I can get (Kona) is 47 kW and for that the aggregate (bundled) rate is 0.58 per kWh. If I need to charge over about 70% the rate drops to around 22 kW and the aggregate rate climbs to $0.93 per kWh. If I really want to obtain anywhere near the range that the car was sold to achieve, at some point around 90% it drops to 11 kW, and that’s $1.61 per kWh. I think you get the picture.

The problem is that the government doesn’t use these prices to estimate EV running costs, they use $0.15 per kWh, prices normally found only in the main centres, only at your home and only at night.

Imagine rolling up to a gas station and having them tell you that you must live nearby, you must sign a contract to only use them, and you can only fill up at night.

afe66

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#2287618 2-Aug-2019 12:03

Cost assumptions have always assumed that all most all people will charge off peak at night at home.

I doubt anyone is really advocating using commercial rapid chargers as your sole charging point as you point out this is the most expensive possible charging option which helps pay for the cost of the power units. (chargenet says they 80k each)

If you believed that I would argue you didn't do your due diligence. Personally, I wouldnt advise someone who doesn't have off street parking (and so can domestically charge) to buy an electric car without careful thought.

To carry your analogy it would be the same as buying 91 at that tiny garage in the corner of Fiordland and complaining that the car cost more to run than in Auckalnd. (irony being some part of nz pay more than auckland does even with the regional fuel tax)

Linuxluver

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#2287635 2-Aug-2019 12:40

Jeeves:
I continue to wonder how charge net makes a profit. Each charger looks to cost somewhere between $50-80k to install. They charge about 25c kw/h - let's say the electricty cost is half that, so gross profit is say 12c kw/h. If the average charge session is say 20kw/h, thats around $2.40 profit per charge. Each charge station would need over 20,000 charges before the capex is paid off. If we average i dunno, 5 charges per day - that's 4,166 days, or 11 years!

That's not including depreciation, maintenance, staff, IT costs, billing blah blah blah.

I can only assume my figures are way off or they are getting some decent subsidies, as that's a pretty ordinary pay back period.

They will be paying commercial power rates. My understanding is these are well below residential power rates per kWh. Steve West has said the 25c/kWh is the cost (aggregated) and the 25c / minute is the 'profit'.

I've also seen them comment they are looking to be profitable in 7 years. We're about 3 yesterday in at this point.

The West's appear to have the resources to support this. We all really should be grateful they are prepared to make this kind of investment so kickstart EV adoption. Yes, there has been some money from government for chargers in more remote locations. Yes, they have received some money from other private companies (BMW -/+ $100,000).

But at the moment, with just under 15,000 EVs, most of which charge at home, no one is getting rich here.

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Linuxluver

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#2287659 2-Aug-2019 13:24

KiwiME:
Jeeves:
I continue to wonder how charge net makes a profit. ... They charge about 25c kwh - let's say the electricty cost is half that, so gross profit is say 12c kw/h. If the average charge session is say 20kwh, thats around $2.40 profit per charge.

You’re aware they charge by the minute as well, $0.25? On a 50kW DC rapid charger the best I can get (Kona) is 47 kW and for that the aggregate (bundled) rate is 0.58 per kWh. If I need to charge over about 70% the rate drops to around 22 kW and the aggregate rate climbs to $0.93 per kWh. If I really want to obtain anywhere near the range that the car was sold to achieve, at some point around 90% it drops to 11 kW, and that’s $1.61 per kWh. I think you get the picture.

The problem is that the government doesn’t use these prices to estimate EV running costs, they use $0.15 per kWh, prices normally found only in the main centres, only at your home and only at night.

Imagine rolling up to a gas station and having them tell you that you must live nearby, you must sign a contract to only use them, and you can only fill up at night.

The reality is most people will charge at home most of the time. I certainly do. . That's 90% of the cost of energy accounted for. Road trips will involve paid charging. The cheapest way to go is charger to 70% (300km in a Kona) and then drive 225km (ish) and charge to 70% again. This is the fastest and cheapest way to roll. Why pay more to charge shower?

It's an adjustment thing. I do it all the time. You get used to it. It's just different. Then comibine the total cost of home charging abd roads trips and the average price per km is very low compared to ICE.

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