The Government is opening a second round of zero-interest loans to accelerate the rollout of public electric vehicle chargers, with around $21 million available to help fund charging infrastructure across New Zealand.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Energy Minister Simeon Brown say the funding is part of the Government’s target to deliver 10,000 public EV charge points by 2030 and encourage greater private sector investment in charging infrastructure.
National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFFCo) will shortly issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for charge point operators seeking co-investment to build portfolios of public charging sites. The concessionary loans can fund up to 50% of eligible capital costs, carry a zero per cent interest rate and have terms of up to 12 years.
Bishop says improving access to public charging remains critical to increasing EV uptake.
“Many Kiwis are interested in making the switch to an EV to cut down on fuel costs or their carbon footprint, but we continue to hear concerns about access to public chargers, especially for longer journeys outside main centres,” he says.
“It’s a classic chicken-and-egg situation. Companies are reluctant to invest in new charging infrastructure until there are more EVs on the road, while many people are hesitant to buy an EV until they know charging will be readily available.”
The second funding round follows the first concessionary loan programme announced in March, which supported projects by ChargeNet and Meridian Energy to deliver 2574 new public charge points.
“Round one demonstrated strong market demand for the programme and showed concessionary loans can successfully unlock significant private sector investment,” Bishop says.
“The projects already underway will more than double New Zealand’s public charging network and represent a major step towards achieving our long-term infrastructure goals.”
Brown says the loans are designed to reduce the cost of capital for charging operators and accelerate deployment.
“The additional funding will accelerate charger deployment and give the market greater confidence to invest.
“Concessionary loans lower the cost of capital and help overcome the challenge that charging infrastructure often needs to be built before demand is fully established.”
The Government says the EV charging programme forms part of a broader electrification strategy, alongside measures to simplify rooftop solar installations, introduce minimum standards for smart EV chargers, require gentailers to offer time-of-use electricity plans, increase export limits for rooftop solar systems and install solar panels on up to 500 schools.
NIFFCo will release the Request for Proposals on August 10.
