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The region’s first electric vehicle charging station on public land has been set up by Hutt City Council.

Council has provided a free three hour car park, for vehicles plugged in to the electric vehicle charging station installed on the kerb.

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace says, “Our Council is really committed to environmental sustainability and Lower Hutt is a leader in technology and innovation so it makes sense to have this charging infrastructure in place. I would like to see these stations widely available throughout the country.”

The car park is in central Lower Hutt on Steven’s Grove, next to The Dowse Art Museum.

Mayor Wallace says, “We’ve put the charging station in a great location so people can plug-in and enjoy the city; look around one of the country’s best art galleries, visit a nearby café, go for a swim in nearby Huia Pool or do some shopping in the central business district.”

Hutt City Council’s Eco Design Advisor, Martin Barry welcomes Council’s investment in this charging station “We are responding to an existing demand and helping to encourage more electric vehicles on our roads. Councils are in a good position to support the market for electric vehicles and I hope to see other councils around the country doing their bit.

“There are a couple of other spots in Lower Hutt that have charging facilities – Z Petone and PAK’nSAVE Petone, which is great to see and I am proud to be part of this work to support cleaner transport.”

An electric or plugin hybrid vehicle can park at no cost for up to three hours in the designated car park, while they are connected to the charger. Users are asked to move to another car park once their vehicle is fully charged.

The car park offers both Type 1 (32 Amp) and Type 2 (32 Amp 3-phase) charging options. These recharge an electric vehicle with about 35km and 100km of driving range per hour respectively.

There are currently over 150 electric vehicles registered in the greater Wellington region.

An electric vehicle symposium with international speakers is to be held 27 June in Wellington, see www.thefutureiselectric.co.nz

Tags: electric car, hutt valley