Charging networks for electric vehicles are growing across Australia enabling charging on the go, which is particularly important when you are renting an EV. For this post, I wanted to find 5 best spots to charge an electric car in Sydney. It would have been too easy to use the Tesla network with its many destination chargers. So to make things a bit more spicy, this post is about charging anything BUT Tesla.
I also didn’t want to stop at shopping centres. Charging there is obviously very convenient, as much as it is boring. i wanted to find unique places, so I planned a day trip in my Nissan LEAF using Plugshare and here’s what I found.
1. Little Bay – Prince Henry Centre
Although the weather wasn’t smiling, this place is absolutely beautiful! A wonderful and quiet spot to have a coffee, enjoy the beach or a game of golf. No problem with the charger, which I activated with ChargePoint card – a must have for all EV drivers in Australia. Plugshare location here.
Pros:
- Beautiful views
- Free
- Cafe
- Beach
- Golf
- Conference centre
- Park with kids playground
Cons:
- Only available Mon-Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm
2. Coogee – Charge at John’s
(UPD not available since Sep 2018)
This is a fantastic way to beat the parking queue at Coogee. Heading to the beach or having lunch at Coogee Pavilion? – this privately owned J1772 charger is less than a 15-minute walk from the beach. You can book it via peer-to-peer service Everty for only $2.5/hour, which is cheaper than the cost of parking! Plugshare location here.
Pros:
- Close to Coogee beach
- Meet another EV owner
Cons:
- A little hard to find first time – entry from the back of the building
- Need to book in advance
3. Sydney Airport – Holiday Inn
I thought it would be interesting to check our this charger. Super convenient if you’ve arrived to the airport to pick up your nanna, but her flight was delayed in the last moment. Why waste your time and pay for parking if you can instead put some juice in your electric car’s battery while hacing a coffe at Holiday Inn? Unfortunately, my experience wasn’t as delightful as expected. It is sometimes the case with the new and growing industry of electric vehicles and chargers.
I plugged the cable into my car, but it would only charge for 2 minutes before stopping for no reason without any error message displayed. Odd. I reported the issue to ChrgePoint, but haven’t received an update yet. Let me know if you try it again and have a better exerience. But anyway, here is the Plugshare link and some photos:
Pros:
- Close to Sydney Airport
- Cafe, restaurant and hotel amenities
- Free
Cons:
- Doesn’t work 🙂
4. Pyrmont – International Convention Centre
This is a perfect location to leave your car at while going out. The ICC is located in the heart of Darling Harbour – Sydney’s iconic hub filled with restaurants, bars, shops and fantastic city views. There are 10 x 2 bay stations, which is probably the most concentrated charging location in Australia. Clearly the designers are anticipating the influx of electric cars in the near future. The only expected downside of this location is the cost. Although charging itself is free, parking will cost you a whopping $18/hour, which is however limited to $49 per 24 hours. Plugshare link here.
Pros:
- Great city location
- Easy to find
- 20 chargers – unlikely to be #ICEd
Cons:
- Expensive parking
5. Sydney Olympic Park – NRMA
At the moment, this is the only CHAdeMO rapid charger in Sydney. This station can charge a Nissan LEAF’s battery to 80% in less that 30 minutes – it had to make it on this list! This charger is the first of 40 that NRMA is planning to install across NSW in the next 4 years to enable long distance travel for all EVs, not just Teslas. This is very exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing more of these in the regional NSW and ACT.
Rapid charging is not the only upside of this location, it’s surrounded by cafes and there are many events held here throughout the year. The problem with visiting an event though is that your battery will be filled to quickly!
Here I had a quite a frustrating experience. I wanted to quickly top up the battery before heading up North to the final destination, but when I arrived there was an internal combustion engine (#ICE) car parked right next to the charger.
I asked the ranger if I could access the cable from the other side by parking on the pedestrian path, but certainly was denied. I had to wait for over an hour.
In the end, the ICE owner was issued a ticket. The parking spot is clearly signposted only for “charging station vehicles”. It was a fair outcome, but the time was lost.
Pros:
- Great location
- Rapid charging
- Free
- Plenty of cafes and entertainment
- CHAdeMO and CCS plug types
Cons:
- Often #ICEd
- Cable is short – need to park close to the charger to reach the car
6. PCYC Dee Why
Since one of the chargers I attempted to use was not functional, here’s a great bonus charging location! This charger is located in the new Northern Beaches PCYC building and linked to ChargePoint network. PCYC itself has plenty of indoor activities, but what’s more important it’s only a 15-minute stroll from the gorgeous and family friendly Dee Why beach. The beach area is plentiful with cafes, bars and shops, so why not leave your car charging for a couple of hours?
Pros:
- Near the beach
- Easy access
- New building
Cons:
- Paid charging
- Paid parking, although it’s cheap ($3 for 4 hours)
Happy charging!
