The World's Longest Electric Highways

Queensland's (Australia) government has announced the development of a 2000km electric highway along its coastal edge, linking 18 towns and cities with EV charging stations - all within 6 months. Research shows that half of the state's population would consider an EV / Hybrid so this ambitious move aims to provide a major incentive to convert these interested parties. For at least a year, power provided at these stations will be completely free, part of the strategy to exponentially increase the number of EVs on the road, currently sitting at 700.

This is not the first of such electric highways - America's West Coast Electric Highway is a network of fast chanrging stations located every 25 to 50 miles along the pacific north west region. The network provides enough charging stations for EV drivers to get from the Canadian border down through Washington and Oregon to the California state line. The core aim here is to provide 'range confidence', the knowledge that drivers can safely undertake long journeys without running out of re-fuelling options.

By far, the largest of these routes is the Trans Canada Electric Highway, which upon completion, will run to almost 8,000km across the entire width of the country. Similar to the Queensland highway, free power has been used as a very attractive incentive to convert to electric. With eleven thousand EVs sold in Canada last year, the transition has started and these charging network enhancements will undoubtedly accelerate interest.

 

Sources

http://www.smh.com.au/business/energy/opec-and-the-oil-barons-face-a-slow-death-by-electrification-20170726-gxjj58.html

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/27/queensland-to-build-one-of-worlds-longest-electric-vehicle-highways

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighway.htm