A group of local electric vehicle owners gathered at Oranje Tractor Wine on the outskirts of Albany on Sunday (20 August 2023) to help celebrate the launch of their newly installed EV charger, the first at a winery in this region.

The charger, which has been co-funded by Oranje Tractor and the WA Government's ChargeUp program, will be open to customers with electric vehicles from today.  The ChargeUp program targets small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organisations, and local government authorities and enables them to install the much needed infrastructure to support the race to Net Zero by 2030.  The grant is designed to increase the number of EV chargers available to staff and customers during daylight hours, to maximise the use of excess energy generated during this time by household solar panels across the state.

"Everyone wins with this opportunity" said Pam Lincoln from Oranje Tractor Wine.  "It's not just  our customers who benefit from being able to charge for free, we can charge our EV too, and the more EVs that are brought in to replace dying ICE cars, the better it is for air quality and ultimately the boiling planet" she said.  Oranje Tractor Wine has always had the planet forefront in its goals, being one of the longest established organic and regenerative vineyards in the state. Making the switch to an EV is a key strategy to achieve a lower carbon footprint.