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2011032103 - Electric Vehicle Charging StationsOWR pF MEETING DATE: 3/21/11 ITEM NO: Fps ASpS COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT DATE: MARCH 15, 2011 TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL U FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER SUBJECT: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS A. ACCEPT STAFF REPORT REGARDING THE STATUS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND CONSIDER INSTALLATION OF EV CHARGING STATIONS AT THREE RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS. B. AUTHORIZE STAFF TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, IF NEEDED, FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THREE ELECTRIC CHARGING STATIONS IN DOWNTOWN PARKING LOTS. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Accept staff report regarding the status of electric vehicle stations in the downtown area and consider installation of EV charging stations at three recommended locations; 2. Authorize staff to issue a Request for Proposals, if needed, for the purchase and installation of three electric vehicle charging stations in downtown lots. BACKGROUND The Town of Los Gatos General Plan includes language that provides support for installing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations. Action ENV -14.1 Provide incentives for new and existing commercial and residential projects that provide parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles (EVs) and have a charging connection. While the General Plan specifically calls for the provision of EV charging stations associated with private development, the Town recognizes the potential benefit of providing additional charging stations in certain downtown municipal parking lots, where the charging stations can be made available for visitors, commuters, and residents. PREPARED BY : TODD CAPURSO Director of Parks and Public Works Reviewed by: � Assistant Town Manager r� Town�ftarney� Clerk Administrator ance Community Development N:\PPW\MANAGEMENT\000NCIL \COUNCIL REPORTS @011 Reports\March 21 \ElectiicChazgingStations_=.l5.l Ldocx PAGE 2 MARCH 15, 2011 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS BACKGROUND (cont'd) Under the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Federal Department of Energy (D.O.E.), there is currently funding in place for public agencies to acquire EV charging station equipment free of charge through designated authorized distributors. One of these opportunities is available through a Campbell company, Coulomb Technologies Inc. Coulomb has proven to be an industry leader in providing EV charging station equipment to municipal governments throughout Washington, Oregon, and California. Using funding from the D.O.E., Coulomb has executed agreements with the cities of San Francisco and San Jose to provide this equipment for public use in municipal parking areas. Several other local municipalities are also working with Coulomb on the installation of EV charging stations. DISCUSSION Prior to the December 6 2011 Town Council meeting, EVadvise, a partner of Coulomb Technologies, performed an initial assessment of the Town's parking facilities and initially recommended thirteen potential locations for installation. While all of these locations are reasonable candidates for installation, several of the locations would require electrical panel upgrades and would commit the Town to making improvements at a time when it is not clear how such improvements would be funded. A staff report on this subject was presented to the Town Council on December 6 2010. In that report, staff recommended a process by which the Town could obtain up to six EV charging stations at no cost (from Coulomb Technologies) and recommended six specific locations for consideration and potential installation. The Council rejected that recommendation and requested that staff return during the first quarter of 2011 with additional information regarding the acquisition and installation process, as well information on alternate service providers. Since the December 6 2010 Town Council meeting, staff has conducted additional research, collaborating with EVadvise and several local agencies. Staff also began gathering information from other potential service providers, including: • ECOtality • BetterPlace • ClipperCreek • AeroViromnent Preliminary research indicates that none of these fn currently has grant funding available for the purchase of publicly accessible EV charging stations. Both ECOtality and ClipperCreek have access to D.O.E. funding; however, it is allocated for private and/or residential use (public charging stations do not qualify). BetterPlace has access to funding as well, but it appears to be PAGE MARCH 15, 2011 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS DISCUSSION (cont'd.) designated for battery swapping stations. AeroVironment, like ECOtality and ClipperCreek, has access to D.O.E. funding for residential charging stations as well as chargers for more commercial (higher volume) applications. While several of these vendors have the capability of providing EV charging stations to the Town, it appears that none of the vendors are able to do so at no -cost to the Town. Coulomb Technologies appears to be the sole option for local agencies to acquire EV charging stations at no cost, providing that a Letter of Intent (LOI) is signed and submitted. However, in order to take full advantage of the federal funding under the D.O.E. program, the installation of the charging stations must occur prior to September 30, 2011. While the acquisition costs may be covered through grant funding, the installation costs should be considered separately. EVadvise recently utilized a D.O.E. certified electrical contractor, REJ Electric, to review and evaluate several potential locations throughout Town. Considering such factors as sufficient power and the physical location of the electrical panels, the recommended list of sites for immediate consideration has been reduced to three. Staff concurs that from an infrastructure perspective, these three sites are viable candidates for inclusion in an initial program because the retrofit and installation costs are relatively low and the sites can be accomplished within the required timeline. In addition, the three sites represent very different parking demand profiles which will aid in evaluating potential future installations. Staff recommends that the Town Council consider the installation of EV charging stations at the following locations: • South Parking Lot • Parking Lot 5 — between Elm and Main • Parking Lot 3 — between Royce and Grays Lane Based on information provided by REJ Electric, the installation costs for these three sites would be approximately $2,000 per site for a basic, one - station installation. One site, Parking Lot 3, has potential for an installation beyond one station. However, costs to accommodate two additional charging stations would increase to $4,500 at this location. While that may be feasible in the future, staff recommends that the Town Council consider a single charging station for this location at this time. Under this recommendation, the total cost for the installation of three charging stations at the recommended locations is approximately $6,000. There would also be additional nominal costs associated with new signage and parking lot re- striping. Some of these costs may be recoverable through grant funding provided through the California Energy Commission (CEC) or the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). However, the Town must make the initial investment and apply for reimbursement after the work is complete. PAGE 4 MARCH 15, 2011 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS DISCUSSION (cont'd.) There may be increased operational expenses for the charging stations as well. The Coulomb charging stations are part of a network of systems called ChargePoint America. The stations are all linked electronically and the status and usage can be tracked using web -based software. The operational costs associated with each station is estimated at $150 annually. These costs can be absorbed into the pricing structure for use of the charging stations. If there is adequate usage of the stations, these costs would be recovered. Lastly, staff recommends continued research regarding the feasibility of installing charging stations at the following locations: • Library /Civic Center site — new parking area • Balzer Field / PPW Corp Yard • Creekside Sports Park At the Library /Civic Center location, the necessary infrastructure can be incorporated in the current construction project for less than $2,000 and the costs could be absorbed into the constriction budget. Similarly, the necessary electrical site work could be accommodated during the construction of the Creekside Sports Park. However, the timeline for both projects removes them from current consideration because the Town cannot commit to either site being publicly accessible by September 2011, which would disqualify the sites from the current D.O.E. funding. The Balzer Field / PPW Corp Yard may be an attractive site in the future not only due to the public access issue, but the site may also be attractive if the Town adds electric vehicles to its fleet in future years. The costs to accommodate the additional electrical requirements at this site are unknown at this time, but are likely to be higher than other sites considered. Therefore this site is also not recommended for consideration at this time. CONCLUSION Based on the assessment of the sites considered as well as the programs available to the Town, staff recommends that the town Council accept the staff report regarding the status of electric vehicle charging stations in the downtown area, and consider the installation of EV charging stations at the three recommended locations. Additionally, if additional information or specificity is required regarding installations, staff will issue a Request for Proposals. The costs associated with of acquisition, installation, and operations will all be evaluated as part of this process. Staff will return to Council with the results and analysis in four to six weeks. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This is a project as defined under CEQA but is Categorically Exempt (Section 15301c). A Notice of Exemption will not be filed. FISCAL IMPACT None