electric vehicle (EV)

Patricia Gill. Eighty shared e-scooters began operation in Denmark this month to a mixed response about safety concerns. Over the Christmas/New Year holidays residents reported on social media about young people riding the scooters at night and on roads disregarding road rules.

Lake Macquarie will be the first council area in the state to welcome shared e-scooters, with a 12-month trial along selected routes to begin from Monday December 5. Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes said the NSW Government has worked closely with Lake Macquarie’s economic development company Dantia and e-scooter provider Beam to ensure the trial will benefit their community and put safety first.

The NSW Government and NRMA charging network has enabled more than 13 million zero emission kilometres – or the distance to the moon and back more than 30 times – of electric vehicle (EV) travel across the state. The impressive milestone was reached as the network continues to expand, with new chargers along the Mitchell Highway at Nyngan and Bourke and out to Brewarrina along the Kamilaroi Highway.

Livingstone Shire Council and leading e-scooter operator, Neuron Mobility, have announced the city’s first e-scooter programme is due to start on Thursday, 10 November. The 12 month trial will see the gradual roll-out of up to 150 of Neuron’s distinctive orange e-scooters throughout the city, including central Yeppoon, Farnborough Beach and Rosslyn Bay Harbour.

The Northern Territory Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Taiwanese company, Aleees and Perth-based Avenira Ltd, to develop and operate the Territory’s first battery cathode manufacturing plant in Darwin. A significant economic and strategic opportunity for the Northern Territory, the plant will manufacture lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathode material.

The state’s peak farming group says there is a clear opportunity for the federal government to help businesses transition to cleaner vehicles. NSW Farmers Business, Economics and Trade Committee chair John Lowe said targeted extension of the instant asset write off could be used to encourage farmers and other rural business owners to purchase more modern, energy efficient equipment.

As of NCC 2022, new residential dwellings will need to achieve the equivalent of “7  stars”  NatHERS thermal performance. New homes will also have a new annual energy use budget applicable to the home’s major appliances such as space conditioning, hot water, lighting, pool and spa pumps, and any on-site renewable energy generation.

Queensland Minister for Energy and Public Works Mick de Brenni said the changes to the National Construction Code 2022, covered making homes more accessible for people with mobility challenges, and increased the energy efficiency and electric vehicle readiness of new homes.

“Now that we’ve rolled out the final chargers along the Barrier Highway, located at Wilcannnia, Cobar, Dubbo, Parkes, Orange and Lithgow, it means drivers travel no more than 300 kilometres to recharge their vehicles when making the 1000-kilometre journey between Sydney and Broken Hill”: Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole.