Up to eight motorists with electric vehicles can "fill up" at any one time in Horsham, with a new charging station on Baillie Street doubling the city's offering.
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For some electric motorists, it means they will be able to fill up in the city for the first time.
The four-vehicle site in the carpark of the Horsham Early Education Centre, just off the Western Highway, is the seventh and final site developed by private company Chargefox with the assistance of $3 million from the Victorian government.
It also means motorists in electric cars can travel between Melbourne and Adelaide.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said the stations delivered enough power in 15 minutes for a vehicle to travel 400 kilometres.
Chargefox has also opened sites in Airport West, Euroa, Barnawartha North, Moe, Torquay, Ballarat, Keith and Murray Bridge in recent years.
Chief executive and co-founder Marty Andrews said previous opening had shown that having the infrastructure in regional towns stimulated the uptake of electric vehicles in those towns.
"When people go into car dealerships to look at electric vehicles, one of the questions they ask is 'What if I want to drive to Melbourne from Adelaide?', for example," he said.
"It's a real psychological barrier, so this takes away some of the anxiety around buying an EV.
"The tourism angle is becoming more important, given the global pandemic and the international borders being imposed. We would love to see more road trips in electric vehicles, and these enable travel in the regions. If people are staying for weekends, they can use Horsham as a base to go out for a radius of 200 kilometres.
"A lot of electric vehicles can't make the distance between Ballarat and Keith, so Horsham is a key link to get to Adelaide. Part of the reason for building these sites it accomplish inter-city travel."
In a statement, the company said the Horsham site featured two 350 kilowatt-capable Tritium Veefil PK chargers, and two 50-kilowatt capable chargers.
It said the site was equipped with varied plug types that make it suitable for all current and future DC-capable electric vehicles, including Teslas.
There are also two Tesla electric vehicle chargers in the carpark of Horsham International Hotel, across the road from the Chargefox site, and two behind Horsham's Gateway Shopping Centre of Park Drive.
Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said: "This investment support the uptake of electric vehicles, improves air quality and positions us to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050."
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
