11.16.2022 ECC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Charging Plymouth electric fleet vehicle During initial discussions on the concept, city staff and the Plymouth Environmental Quality Committee (EQC) raised concerns about how quickly this new technology was changing, and the EQC provided valuable expertise on some of the potential technology and time risks associated with EV charging stations. For chargers to stay relevant, they need to keep up with current technology, be accessible and coordinate with third -party smart phone/tablet applications and remain financially viable to prevent rate spikes and avoid driving the community to other charging sites. If not addressed adequately, these technology and behavioral challenges could cause the program to fail. Plymouth electric fleet vehicle at City Hall The Great Plains Institute has also heard from cities across the county on the topic and is working with other states to pilot the EV Ready Cities Program. For context, Minnesota has about 20,000 registered EVs, including both plug-in hybrids and battery electric (all electric), and 1,171 charging stations, including nearly 200 DC fast chargers. Many of these charging stations have been installed along highway corridors as part of the state's EV charging infrastructure buildout, utilizing mostly Volkswagen settlement funding. As the number of EVs on the roads has increased in Minnesota, so has the number of cities expressing interest in electrifying their operations and transportation in their communities. Visit website (http://www.apwa.net/elearning) Recognizing this growing interest, the Great Plains Institute and the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) collaborated to convene two cohorts of peer cities that shared information, resources and connections in an effort to learn and act together. The first cohort, called Cities Charging Ahead (CCA), ran from spring 2018 through June 2019 and involved 27 cities and one Tribal Nation. The second, CCA 2.0, ran from September 2020 until late spring 2021 and included 28 cities and two Tribal Nations. These cohorts uncovered various approaches to how cities viewed electric vehicle initiatives. Some saw EVs as a greenhouse gas reduction/climate strategy, while others adopted forward -thinking viewpoints and explored initiatives to stay ahead of the inevitable adoption of EVs, avoid missing out on economic development opportunities, and leverage the technology to attract shops, businesses and young families to their communities. Plymouth was not involved in the CCA cohorts process but shared many of the reasons that other cities were choosing to pursue this work. After nearly a year of working with the city's energy consultant, various city departments and city officials, Plymouth entered into a contract with Carbon Solution Group (CSG) to provide full EV charger implementation. The proposal between Plymouth and CSG involved a 20-year agreement with no cost and no risk to the city, with all capital investments completed by the CSG team on behalf of the city. As part of the agreement, the city has final approval on charger locations, but all licensing, design, permitting, utility coordination, and project management are being completed by CSG. Additionally, all operational expenses, including maintenance, software/network fees and electrical expenses are included in the contract. Because the EV stalls will charge user fees, the project will bring in monthly lease payments per stall and profit-sharing based on utilization of the facilities. This turnkey approach allows the program implementation to be completed by technical experts and frees up city staff to continue implementing energy saving projects citywide. As EVs continue to grow in popularity, it will become more important for cities and counties to plan for this infrastructure. A total of 115 EV charging stations are scheduled for installation in the spring of 2022 and will be available for community use at city facilities, including City Hall, the Maintenance Facility, Ice Center, Community Center and Metrolink Station 73 Park & Ride, as well as several city park locations. Each site will initially have Level 2 charging