Municipalities around Perth County are addressing a need for more electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
An increase in the number of electric vehicles on the road, forecast to continue to rise, along with benefits to the local economy and environment, have factored in to decisions from local governments to approve the purchase and installation of EV chargers throughout the county.
Government grants such as the zero-emission vehicle infrastructure program (ZEVIP) are a big motivator.
At their meeting last week, St. Marys town council approved the installation of three, dual-port level two charging stations, adding six charging ports in all.
"People seek these things out," Al Strathdee, mayor of St. Marys, told StratfordToday.
In addition to offering charging stations for residents, they increase economic development and tourism, Strathdee said.
A regional EV charging network is working together to ensure batteries can get charged wherever a driver may go. The network includes the County of Perth, County of Wellington, County of Dufferin, County of Huron, Bruce County, County of Grey, City of Guelph, and the Nuclear Innovation Institute.
Hannah Cann, resiliency and stewardship coordinator with the County of Perth, said a quick glance at the Plug Share website shows that the county has some catching up to do with their neighbours when it comes to charging stations.
Cann has has travelled extensively, discussing the Perth County Electric Pathway with municipal lower tier governments in the county, sharing information on the benefits of the charging stations and answering questions. For some municipal leaders, there is still plenty to learn about the technology.
Cann said 18 ports are being deployed in phase one of the Perth County Electric Pathway. All are dual port chargers (18 ports on nine pedestals).
West Perth is taking eight ports in phase one across their municipal office and Keterson Park Pavilion, while North Perth is taking four ports in phase one at the Steve Kerr Memorial Complex. All of the charging ports are the ChargePoint 6000 model.
As a part of the Rural Recharge Regional EV Partnership, West Perth and North Perth are getting level three chargers, the fastest yet most expensive, in the coming year, including one each in Mitchell and Listowel.
Cann said phase two of the Perth County Electric Pathway will include 20 more level two charging ports across Perth County, including Perth East and Perth South, and perhaps more level three chargers across the region, depending on funding applications.
According to a report on the regional partnership web page, the region has 22 level three and 145 level two EV charging stations for public use. Participating municipalities "can leverage time and resources to build a cohesive charging experience that allows EV drivers to travel throughout the region."
Partners recognized that by strategically deploying fast charging stations throughout the study area, they ensure communities in their region gain economic and environmental benefits from EV travel – enhanced tourism and lower pollution, respectively, the report stated.
The county’s Corporate and Community Climate Action Plan outlines a vision "to mitigate climate change risks by ambitiously reducing local greenhouse gas emissions, and will ensure a more resilient and healthy future for our communities", according to the report.
Cann said there is local commitment to a greenhouse gas reduction plan.
"We highly value the partnerships Perth County has with our local municipalities to deliver this infrastructure to our rural communities. We are proud of the intrepid leadership these councils have shown in supporting the Perth County Electric Pathway project. This project fulfills action two and three in the transportation section of the plan, leading us closer to being a resilient and sustainable community."
Cann has worked closely with local municipalities since May, developing a wish list of sites, and helping to determine the number of ports and what could be potentially finished this year or next.
"Those 18 ports throughout North Peth, West Perth and St. Marys will be installed hopefully before the new year," she said.
Cann has received a lot of questions at each meeting. Some (councils) are keen for level three chargers and see them as a massive opportunity for economic development. Some want to cater to the local residents or visitors staying over, with level two chargers, she said.
"Many are eager to learn more and encouraged by the strides from neighbouring municipalities."
Huron County, for example, basically did the same project as Perth County last year, adding 22 ports, Cann said.
The City of Stratford received its federal funding through ZEVIP. Three dual port level two charge stations were installed downtown in the Kalbfleisch municipal parking lot (six vehicle charging spaces), and two new dual port level two charging stations in the Albert Street parking lot.
"We are also installing an additional six dual port level twos, which are going in next year and a fast charging level three station, so another 13 charging spaces will be brought on-line next year," said Stratford's deputy clerk, Chris Bantock.
That work has to be done by January of 2025, per an agreement with the federal government. Bantock said those locations have not yet been released but are planned for municipal parking lots.
The level three charging station would be the first city-owned in Stratford. Level three's cost more up front and to operate, but provide more output in a shorter amount of time.
Bantock said the city will continue to assess usage.
"We are at the point with our current project, if we are ever going to do anything more, the goal would be to look at more level threes."
By the project’s end scheduled for January 2025, a total of 23 new charging ports will be available in downtown city parking lots.
The City received $160,000 in funding for the initiative.
Municipalities are the owner/operators of the chargers and receive a monthly revenue cheque. Users are charged an hourly fee.
A report to St. Marys council said the cost of turn-key installation varies per site, from $7,500 to $7,900 per port. The average return on investment is $3.71 to $4.23 per hour of use. The municipality would determine the hourly cost. Huron County, for example, charged $5 per hour for their level two chargers, according to the St. Marys staff report.
The town currently charges $2 per hour for their existing charger at the train station.
The Canadian government is aiming for one-fifth of all new cars sold to be electric by 2026, 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
A Village Media poll noted four in 10 readers want their next vehicle to be electric.
Canada appears on track to hit its goal of installing 33,500 charging ports by 2026. As of July, however, the zero-emission vehicle infrastructure program had approved and funded 33,887 charging ports, but only about 13 per cent were already operational. The rest should be up and running by March 2026, said federal environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco.
DeMarco said almost nine of 10 ports funded were in Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia.
As of mid-August, a charging station database maintained by Natural Resources Canada lists almost 23,000 charging ports in more than 9,100 public locations across Canada. An analysis commissioned by Natural Resources Canada and published in March 2022, projected that to meet those targets, the country will need about 52,000 public charging ports by 2025, between 195,000 and 201,000 charging ports by 2030, and between 442,000 and 499,000 by 2035.
Cann said council members want to ensure the community wants and needs charging stations, and that the infrastructure provided has value and is used well into the future.
"Overall, there has been positive feedback from councils and it is encouraging to see so many hungry for this infrastructure. It dove tails perfectly to meet an action item of the County of Perth's Greenhouse Gas Reduction plan."
Meanwhile in St. Marys, the town will likely set-up the new charging stations at the Pyramid Recreation Centre and the downtown municipal parking lot on Jones Street.
Mayor Strathdee said supply chain concerns could possibly impact when they are operational, however, the infrastructure is already in place and they hope to have them installed by the new year.
Strathdee said with billions invested by the government, companies shifting to electric fleets, and more people opting out of gas-powered, the technology is not going away. Everyone that drives electric has loved it, he said.
"My next car will be a hybrid. I might not have an option."
- with files from Canadian Press
