Funding granted for electric vehicles and charging stations at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

Haupapa St carpark electric vehicle charging station. Photo/File

Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology has been granted $48,972 to connect its Tauranga and Rotorua campuses with two electric seven-seater vans for staff and charging infrastructure at each campus.

The project was one of 19 granted funding by Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods today.

$3.87 million was allocated in total, under the fourth round of the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, overseen by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

A media release from the minister's office said Toi Ohomai's funding was granted "in line with its desire to be a sustainable organisation".

"The institute will share its learnings on total cost modelling for ownership of EVs, looking at a variety of factors including environmental, health, running and maintenance costs, and safety as compared with a conventional fleet."

Megan Woods said the fund was one of "several initiatives in the Government's Electric Vehicles Programme, which aims to double the number of EVs every year to reach 64,000 by the end of 2021".

Currently, Rotorua has one public electric vehicle charging station, in the Haupapa St carpark.

It opened in September 2016.