$2.2m in funding for council fleet electrification

Three councils in Melbourne’s west will soon be electrifying their fleets with the help of $2.2 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

As members of the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA), Wyndham City Council, Moonee Valley City Council and Brimbank City Council will introduce battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for waste management, parks and roads maintenance, and general travel.

The funding will support the Local Council BEV Integration Project in deploying 65 light BEVs and seven heavy BEVs, as well as charging infrastructure, across the three councils.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project would 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 project encompasses a collective fleet of more than 400 vehicles at the selected council sites, offering an opportunity to demonstrate how a variety of vehicles can be transitioned to zero-emissions alternatives.

ARENA and the councils will also be exploring how to overcome the challenges in bringing electric vehicles into fleets, such as technical issues, costs and day-to-day operations.

The project will tackle issues related to charging infrastructure and develop strategies for making fleet electrification an easier process. It will be rolled out over three years, ending in June 2027.

The Australian Government has shown its commitment to incentivising vehicle electrification via the Driving the Nation Fund, announced in 2022, which has provided $500 million to invest in cheaper and cleaner transport, including charging innovation and fleet decarbonisation.

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