BCAG - Butte County Association of Governments

Butte PEV Readiness Plan

BCAG has initiated development of the Butte Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) Readiness Plan (Plan), and will be working with city and county staff and other interested stakeholders over the next year to develop the plan. BCAG was successful in receiving a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant in the amount of $114,777 to develop the Butte PEV Readiness Plan.

The draft Butte PEV Readiness Plan is currently available for public review, please see the links below.

Public workshops will be held on March 27th and 28th (see details below). Both workshops will be identical in format and will be "open house" style with information pertaining to the Plan available for review, and project staff available to answer questions.

Public Workshop #1

Tuesday, March 27th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Butte County Association of Governments, Conference Room

326 Huss Drive, Suite 150, Chico, CA

Public Workshop #2

Wednesday, March 28th, 12:00 - 2:00 PM

Butte County Health Department, Klamath Room

202 Mira Loma Drive, Oroville, CA

Draft Plan:

Draft Butte PEV Readiness Plan 3-9-18

Draft Plan Appendices:

Appendix A. PEV 101 Information

Appendix B. Guide to the 2016 Ca Green Bldg Standards Code

Appendix C. Ready Set Charge

Appendix D. Example EVSE Permit Forms and Checklists

Appendix E. Streamlining the Permitting & Inspection Process for Home Charging

Appendix F. Accessible PEV Charging Stations

Appendix G. Universal Charging Access Guidelines and Best Practices

Appendix H. Policy Directive MUTCD PEV Signage

Appendix I. Workplace Charging Sample Survey

Appendix J. Workplace Charging PEV Coalition

Appendix K. Clean Cities Training Opportunities

Appendix L. Accessibility and Signage for PEV Charging Infrastructure

Appendix M. AB1236 Sample Ordinance and Staff Report

Appendix N. Workplace Charging Station Cost Recovery Strategies

BACKGROUND

What are plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)?

A PEV is a Plug-in Electric Vehicle that runs at least partially on battery power and is recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet.

Pure Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) run on electricity stored in batteries and have an electric motor rather than a gasoline engine.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) run on both an electric battery-powered motor, and a gasoline engine.

The purpose of developing the Butte PEV Readiness Plan is to:

Make the region eligible for grant funding for installation of new PEV charging stations;
Ensure the region is prepared for anticipated coming “wave” of new PEVs;
Provide a “toolbox” for the cities and county to improve their PEV readiness;
Contribute to improved air quality and reduced CO2 emissions in the region;
Help meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for BCAG's Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and city and county climate action plans.

Regions throughout the state are developing PEV readiness plans to be prepared for the anticipated increase in plug-in electric vehicles. Most major automobile manufacturers are developing PEVs with increased driving range, performance and practicability, and the existing network of charging stations continues to expand.

The development of the Butte PEV Readiness Plan is being coordinated through a Project Development Team (PDT) that includes representatives from the cities and county, as well as interested stakeholders including Butte County Air Quality Management District, PG&E, CSU Chico, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico Electric Vehicle Association, and others. Public workshops will be held to solicit additional public input.

The Plan will include the following main components:

Identification of preferred locations throughout the region for additional PEV charging facilities;
Recommendations for improvements to city and county building codes, permitting and inspection processes, and zoning and parking requirements, in order to facilitate and streamline installation of PEV charging equipment in residential, workplace and public/retail locations;
Recommendations for increasing the number of PEVs in vehicle fleets throughout the region;
Projections identifying future PEV use in the region;
Information for future training and education.

A preliminary project schedule provides information on the timeline and tasks associated with developing the Plan. Completion of the Plan is anticipated toward summer 2018. For further information on the Butte PEV Readiness Plan, please contact Chris Devine at cdevine@bcag.org or 530-809-4616.