By Pam Kiriakidis
The City of Whittlesea is planning for an expected boom in electric vehicles, EVs, with industry bodies forecasting there will be more than 17,400 in the municipality by 2030.
The most recent figures, as of 2021, show just under 200 EVs were owned by residents in the City of Whittlesea.
But Australian Energy Market Operator and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation forecasts show that number is expected balloon out to 17,470 in the next seven years.
The Northern Councils Alliance, NCA, last month released its Community Electric Vehicle Transition Plan – a strategic plan to help assist communities and businesses across Melbourne’s north transition to electric vehicles.
A collaborative effort between the municipalities and shires of Darebin, Banyule, Merri-bek, Nillumbik, Mitchell and Whittlesea, the plan supports lower-emissions transport options – vehicle charging, walking, cycling, e-bikes and e-scooters – towards creating a sustainable transport future.
The report is a response to reducing transport emissions with six objectives; to develop a Community-Wide Electric Vehicle Transport Plan for the NCA region with a 10-year horizon; increase the capability and capacity of councils to support the roll-out of EV infrastructure; identify key priorities for investment; address key planning and policy considerations relating to EV transition; support advocacy for investment in community EV transition; and place Melbourne’s north as a leading hub of EV infrastructure and manufacturing investment.
The NCA’s next step is to begin advocating to federal and state governments to help fund the plan’s goals.
City of Whittlesea chair administrator Lydia Wilson said the plan provided a coordinated ‘regional approach’ to managing the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by transport.
“The detail provided around vehicle charging as well as encouraging walking, cycling, e-bikes and e-scooters will enable council to partner with our northern neighbours to bring this plan to life,” she said.
Ms Wilson said council was committed to reducing emissions in line with its sustainable environment goal in the Whittlesea 2040 plan.
“We have recently adopted our climate change plan, which sets a target to reduce emissions to net zero by 2036. Addressing community-wide transport-related emissions is an important element of meeting this target,” she said.
“We will continue to work with our neighbouring councils through the Northern Councils Alliance to advocate for the realisation of this important regional EV transition plan, as well as undertaking local actions to support our community and businesses to transition to electric vehicles.”
The report found most electric vehicles were owned in the City of Whittlesea between 2016 and 2020 compared with other Northern Alliance local governments, before ownership in Hume and Merri-bek spiked in 2021.
EV ownership in Hume increased by 400 per cent from just under 50 in 2016 to nearly 250 in 2021.
Ownership in the Mitchell Shire, however, is trailing far behind, with less than 30 electric vehicles in the shire as of 2021.
