Plugging in to the future of tourism
Innovation
AN Australian winery has installed an electric car recharger to help adapt to future tourism trends.
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Raidis Estate has recently installed Australia’s first winery Tesla recharge station at their Coonawarra Cellar Door in South Australia.
Tesla drivers travelling along the Limestone Coast in the south of the state will be able to stop at Raidis and charge their cars in only three hours.
Raidis Estate managing director Steven Raidis said he was inspired to install the charging device after Melbourne-based Tesla owner Keith Wein visited his cellar door and had to wait 24 hours for his vehicle to recharge.
“Tesla’s will charge via a typical household power supply but waiting a full day and night isn’t a practical option for anyone with a limited time frame,” said Steven.
“When I heard that the car would take 24 hours to charge, I thought there had to be a better way,” says Steven. “I think it will attract forward-thinking consumers, and those are the kind of people we want to be involved with.”
Keith recently revisited the winery to test the new device.
“I’m delighted, now I can enjoy a tasting and lunch in Penola and be on my way again,” he said of the free service.
The 400-kilometre range of a Tesla meant the 800-kilometre round trip between Melbourne, the Coonawarra and Adelaide was not an option for Tesla drivers.
“For people travelling from Victoria through to Adelaide, we are one of the stops along the way,” Steven said. “We want more people in the Coonawarra and this is one of the steps to achieving that. It will be good for us and also for the region, which is a bonus.”
Steven said the installation of the charger should have noticeable impacts on business growth within six years when the number of Tesla drivers increases.
“Part of the deal in installing the device is that is has to be free. It is cost neutral for us, and it makes a lot of sense to be charging cars with solar panels. Solar power as an organic energy source compliments the way we operate,” said Steven.
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