Vancouver Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) Charging Infrastructure Field-Test
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Plans, Studies, Pilots
Sector
Transportation
Project value$800,000
Project Type
Pilot Project
Sub Sector
Fleet Management
Grant amount$350,000
Program type
GMF
Municipality
City of Vancouver, BC
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
662,248
Project timeline
2010 - 2014
Project number
10410
Description
The City of Vancouver will conduct a field test of charging infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase electrical grid resilience and integrate renewable energy. This test will complement the city’s policies and programs such as updated building codes to require the installation of electric vehicle charging systems.
The city will lease four pre-commercial PEVs to test some 70 charging stations that will be installed and then monitored through complete system testing. The stations will be installed in residential areas, at large employment sites, fleet garages, and public sites such as supermarkets and entertainment venues. Level 1 (110V) and 2 (220V) charge stations will be installed to test a range of charging approaches and will allow charge times of 12-14 hours or 6-8 hours respectively. During the testing period, the city will evaluate the draft Canadian charging infrastructure guidelines and the new City of Vancouver building and electrical codes for charging infrastructure. They will also identify and analyse the whole system impacts and opportunities for electric utilities.
If the field test is successful, the city will install at least 250 additional charging stations by 2020; reducing GHG emissions by approximately 400 tonnes of CO2e per year. It is expected that the leadership demonstrated by the city by this field test and complementary regulations will encourage the private sector to follow with far greater numbers of installations to support approximately 19,000 PEV cars with a market penetration rate of roughly 9%. The resulting GHG emission reductions for Vancouver are anticipated to be 77 kilotonnes of CO2e per year. The Vancouver field test will be part of a highly integrated province-wide test that is linked with national efforts and with the U.S. Department of the Environment PEV infrastructure program. This collaboration will leverage relationships to reduce the risks associated with deploying new, innovative technology.
(Project description from original funding application)
Applicant
City of Vancouver, BC