Electric vehicle owners in Benalla will be able to charge up at a free, solar powered, EV charger at Schneider Electric on Sydney Rd.
The charger, which is partly manufactured at the facility, is the first the company is installing in its car park ahead of a plan to roll out several more in the future.
While it will be used to charge its own electric vehicle fleet, members of the public can come along between 10am and 2pm on a weekday and pop into reception to grab the cable.
Schneider Electric Global Engineering to Order Operations senior vice-president Yann Reynaud was in Benalla for the official opening on Tuesday, March 14.
“In each and every one of our plants we’re moving towards net zero and carbon neutral which means we’re promoting and then pushing quite a lot on renewable energy,” Mr Reynaud said.
“For example, here we have been installing solar panels on the roof, managing reductions which are pretty consequent.
“(We have) almost 50 per cent reduction of our consumption and also waste water recycling.
“And part of that we are also promoting the electric vehicles.”
Mr Reynaud said the charging station was linked to what the company did here in Benalla.
“What we do here is pretty unique,” he said.
“We are (producing) the infrastructures for those EV chargers, that we are deploying along the roads.
“If you go to a petrol station and you see one of these chargers, they are all linked with electricity pillars (which are) manufactured in Benalla.”
The new EV charger at its Benalla facility is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
“This one is not only an EV charger for the fleet of vehicles we have, but on top of that 100 per cent green, because it’s powered by the solar panels.
“This is the first one. The idea is, as we develop, we’ll probably convert part of the parking lot we have here with more EV chargers.”
Mr Reynaud said the company was moving towards having a completely electric fleet of vehicles, in a very fast way.
“In other places, in Europe for example, by 2035 there will be no thermal motors any more,” he said.
“If you look at the way we are developing, one third of the fleet that you see in the parking lot will already be electric vehicles.
“(With) our fleet of commercial vehicles in most of the cases we’re moving from hybrid to 100 per cent electric vehicles.
“And we are moving towards that in an extremely fast way.”
Mr Reynaud said another element of having free, renewable, electric vehicle charging at Schneider’s Benalla facility is it could encourage staff to move to an EV, which they would be able to charge at work.
And he was keen to get the word out that as the factory is undergoing investment and expansion there are plenty of jobs available in Benalla.
“This is a very special place for us. It is growing and is growing super fast,” he said.
“We are continuing to invest, we are going to continue to grow the factory and we need the resources.
“We need people, that is the message.
“If you are an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer, if you are a technician or electrician and are interested please come forward.”
If you are interested in more information on available jobs, visit: www.se.com/au/en/about-us/careers/overview.jsp or phone 5761 3005.
If you have an EV you would like to charge you can take it along to Schneider Electric on 88 Sydney Rd between 10am and 2pm on a weekday, and pop into reception to check availability and get the charging cable.