Local councils in Melbourne’s west will receive a boost to their decarbonisation efforts, with $2.2 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to assist in their transition to electric vehicles.
This funding will support the Local Council BEV Integration Project to deploy 65 light battery electric vehicles (BEV) and seven heavy battery electric vehicles, as well as charging infrastructure, across three local councils in Victoria.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said the project will show that collaboration between local councils can accelerate transport decarbonisation and yield wider community benefits.
“This project particularly highlights the intersection of clean energy, sustainability, innovation and the role local councils have in the clean energy transition,” he said.
“Local councils have been early movers in this space and, typically, their experiences reflect the challenges and barriers experienced by other industries and sectors.”
The Wyndham City Council, Moonee Valley City Council and Brimbank City Council, as members of the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA), will introduce BEVs for waste management, parks and roads maintenance and general travel.
This project, worth a total of $8.9 million, will accelerate transport emissions reduction efforts through fleet decarbonisation, supporting Australia’s net zero targets.
With a collective fleet of over 400 vehicles at selected council sites, the project provides an opportunity to display the capacity for a range of vehicles to be transitioned to zero emissions alternatives.
Additionally, ARENA claims the project will test solutions to challenges surrounding the introduction of electricity vehicles into fleets such as technical issues, costs and day-to-day operations.
It aims to understand charging infrastructure needs and strategies for managing electric vehicles to make fleet electrification easier.
The project will be deployed over three years, ending in June 2027.