January 14 2020
Horizon Power will be kicking off an electric vehicle (EV) pilot project in Broome in March.
The pilot is being run to help Horizon Power better understand the impact that electric vehicles will have on the Broome electricity grid.
As part of the pilot, Horizon Power is purchasing a fully electric Hyundai Kona to join part of its fleet. The Kona will be driven by a Horizon Power linesmen for a year to gather insights on how the car performs, charging behaviour and ‘range anxiety’ – the perceived fear that the vehicle may have insufficient charge to reach its destination.
Horizon Power is also installing a 22 kilowatt fast charger at its Broome depot and seven kilowatt slow charger to be installed at the employee’s home. The pilot will compare the impact on the grid of the charging of the vehicle from the slow charging station at his home, compared with the medium station at the depot.
A 22 kilowatt fast charging station will provide charge of about 120km of range every hour, compared with 40km of range every hour for a seven kilowatt slow charging station.
EV owners in Broome will benefit from the charging station to be installed at Horizon Power’s depot in McDaniel Street, Broome, being able to use the station to recharge their EV for free during the 12 month pilot.
“Electric Vehicles are one of the biggest changes we are seeing to transport in our lifetime, and we are going to start to see more electric vehicles in regional areas over the next few years” said Horizon Power CEO Stephanie Unwin.
“Horizon Power has an important role to play in making sure our communities can take advantage of EVs and this pilot is an important step in Horizon Power ensuring that we are prepared for the uptake of EVs across the State” Ms Unwin.