Regional District of Kootenay Boundary electric vehicle and infrastructure study

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) made a voluntary commitment to become carbon-neutral across its services, facilities and operations. In 2018, 33% of RDKB’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions came from transportation—a key area in which RDKB can reduce its emissions.

RDKB is currently focused on reducing its fossil fuel usage within its general and building inspection fleet by converting part of the fleet to zero-emissions electric vehicles during the vehicle-replacement cycle. However, more charging infrastructure will be needed to expand RDKB’s electric vehicle fleet and fully test the suitability of electric vehicles in a rural application. Although RDKB currently has a level-2 charging station at its headquarters in Trail, the expansion of its charging infrastructure is restricted due to electrical capacity.

This study differs from the previously funded GMF Accelerate Kootenays pilot project (GMF15149), which established a public charging station network so EV travel to and within the Kootenay region is convenient and reliable.

The key differences between the GMF 15149 and this project are:

• uses (public use vs municipal use)
• vehicle types
• travel distances (RDKB’s general fleet vehicles travel around 20,000 km per year with regular trips lengths varying between 5km to 400 km)

The objective of this study is to examine how the RDKB can optimize infrastructure to ensure the charging design will meet rural travel distances, and reduce capital and operating costs. In summary it will:

• Determine charging requirements for range of different user profiles across light duty fleet including regular rural trips;
• Determine upgrade and infrastructure requirements at key facilities that can then inform roll out at other facilities;
• Examine the charging load management (peak load and overall demand) and load sharing systems option to optimize infrastructure costs.

This study will examine the initial deployment of 12 x level 2 charging stations in phase 1 and future 6 charging stations in phase 2. This is to allow for future proofing and further expansion of BEV fleet when other vehicle types become available, e.g. light duty trucks.

The longer term project will explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a rural use of electric vehicles for fleet purposes. The approach can be then shared with other local governments and organizations.

The replacement of five vehicles with electric vehicles will reduce GHGs by 121 tCO2 and save 57,330 litres of gasoline. Similarly, the replacement of 10 to 12 vehicles (including light-duty trucks) over a ten-year span with electric vehicles will reduce GHGs by nearly 300 tCO2 and save 138,000 litres of gasoline.

This feasibility study is closely linked to several of RDKB’s existing policies, plans and programs, including the RDKB Strategic Plan (2019–2022), the Climate Action Imperative, the Corporate Sustainability Initiatives Policy, and the Fleet Vehicle Replacement Policy.

Innovative aspect(s): This study is unique due to the rural nature of the communities that RDKB provides services to and the distances in which the fleet vehicles must travel.

Replicability: There are many potential best practices and lessons learned that could be applicable to other Canadian communities. RDKB could provide guidance on charging infrastructure load-management and sharing options to optimize infrastructure costs, charging infrastructure planning, employee engagement and awareness campaigns.