Creation of an Actionable Municipality-Wide Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan
An electric vehicle readiness plan is a vital first step for understanding current needs and potential growth that supports implementation that is convenient for users and infrastructure that is financially viable.
The City of Pueblo (the City) partnered with Iconergy to provide a strategic plan and vision for the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and charging infrastructure in the City. Planning for a future that supports electric vehicles represents a critical step in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As part of their sustainability goals, the City adopted the “Electric Vehicle Market Assessment and Readiness Plan.”
This electric vehicle readiness plan initiative was funded by the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) and aims to position the City as a leader for sustainable efforts to its communities as well as travelers who need a safe place to charge.
In order to make sure the electric vehicle readiness plan was something that the community would embrace, there was a heavy focus on collecting their feedback through workshops, stakeholder meetings, and one-on-one interviews. We were able to gather diverse opinions and perceived barriers for electric vehicle implementation from community members, business-owners, and the local government entities. This valuable information was key in writing a unique plan for the City that aligns with their local needs.
While challenges included range anxiety, cold temperatures, battery sustainability, and the upfront cost. There were more opportunities listed than challenges, which included better air quality, reduced vehicle ownership cost, reduced GHG emissions, public health benefits, reduced vehicle noise, additional opportunities for revenue, and vehicle to grid and vehicle to home technologies. Our electric vehicle readiness plan assessed the current state of the EV market in the city, future trends, and existing infrastructure. This information was used to create a readiness roadmap that identified strategies for implementation. Our report evaluated the feasibility, challenges, recommended actionable strategies for overcoming obstacles, as well as the opportunities for successful electric vehicle adoption for personal use and municipal fleet operations.
