Johor aiming for more than 1,200 EV charging stations by 2030

JOHOR BARU: The state government has set a target of having over 15,000 electric vehicles (EVs) statewide by 2030, says Johor executive councillor Ling Tian Soon.

The state health and environment committee chairman said the goal was among the policies introduced by the Johor Green Committee to encourage the use of renewable technology and promote sustainability.

“Based on figures from the Road Transport Department (JPJ), there are currently 977 EVs in Johor, and our aim is to increase this number to 15,840 by 2030.

“To achieve this, we also need to expand the EV charging station network. As such, we have set a target to have 1,245 charging stations by 2030,” he said, adding that there are currently 377 charging stations statewide.

Ling said this during a press conference after attending a charity event in conjunction with Chinese New Year hosted by Paragon Globe Bhd and Grand Paragon Hotel yesterday.

He said that the green transportation policy was among three policies introduced by the committee during its first meeting, chaired by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi on Feb 7.

“We will also come out with standard operating procedures for the approval process of EV charging stations, where local councils will have to provide a decision within seven working days on whether to approve an application,” he said, adding that each local council will also be given a specific target to achieve.

He also noted that the policy would also cater to Singaporean visitors as only cleaner-energy vehicle models will be allowed for registration in Singapore starting 2030.

Apart from the transportation policy, Ling said the committee had also introduced a renewable energy policy aimed at achieving 600 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2030.

“Johor currently has a total renewable energy capacity of 199MW. With this new policy, we aim to increase it to 600MW by 2030.

“To achieve this, over the next few years, we will encourage both local and foreign investments in the renewable energy sector.

“We will also promote the adoption of renewable technologies by existing businesses such as hotels, factories, and residential properties,” he said.

Ling added that another key policy was to address climate issues, particularly floods.

“We have introduced a climate change policy focusing on flood mitigation.

“This policy ensures that every local council considers flood risks before approving any development projects,” he said, adding that the Johor Green Committee had approved three policies that will be brought forward to the state executive council meeting soon.