Tesla Supercharger hub opens in Goulburn

BEV range anxiety will ratchet down for travellers on the Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney following the commissioning of a new 20-bay Tesla Supercharger hub in Goulburn, 194km or two hours’ drive south-west of the NSW state capital.

Possibly even more relevant from a political perspective is the convenience the hub, co-funded by the NSW government’s fast charging grants scheme, will afford road users between the National Capital, Canberra and Sydney via the Federal Highway that feeds through Goulburn.

It is the biggest BEV charging site in Australia and takes pressure off the existing recharging infrastructure in the Southern Highlands town that often became “saturated” with vehicles needing a recharge particularly on weekends, at times exacerbated with equipment failures and during the hectic ski season.

The new facility is the ninth Tesla Supercharging point along the Hume Highway – or accessible from the Hume between Sydney and Melbourne.

Before the new supercharging hub was commissioned earlier this month in Lockyer St adjacent to the iconic Big Merino landmark BEV owners had to drive further off the Hume to access an aging site with Tritium chargers in towards the middle of town.

The Big Merino location is perhaps 500 metres from the southern access to Goulburn off the Hume placing it within easy reach of customers as are a major fast-food restaurant, Bunnings and other amenities.

According to a report in TheDriven publication, Tesla’s country director for Australia and New Zealand, Thom Drew, stated in social media that it’s the largest site in the southern hemisphere, and said it is open to all CCS2 compatible vehicles.

“Right by the famous Big Merino, this is the largest site in the southern hemisphere and complements the original eight stall site in town,” he said.

“The site features 20 stalls with up to 250kW of power available per stall with charging fees for Tesla owners are currently at $0.52/kWh.”

For drivers of compatible vehicles (other than Teslas), TheDriven reported recharge fees are currently set at $0.73/kWh, which can be reduced with a Tesla charging membership.

“Tesla already operates a site in Goulburn at the Visitor Information Centre with eight V2 stalls, which are currently available to Tesla drivers only, so this new site with the latest charging hardware will be welcomed by many needing a charge, given how busy this route is,” the dedicated EV publication noted.

Tesla now operates almost 130 recharge sites across Australia the latest Goulburn facility following a recently commissioned new site in Kew, on the NSW Mid-North Coast, featuring eight V4 stalls Tesla saying it would ease congestion on surrounding charging sites “as we head into the busy summer holiday period in Q4 this year.”

According to TheDriven over 80 of these Tesla sites, which make up nearly two-thirds of all the manufacturers rechargers Down Under, are open to non-Tesla EVs, allowing drivers with compatible cars to charge at the country’s most reliable charging network.