BCAG - Butte County Association of Governments

Butte PEV Readiness Plan

BCAG has initiated development of the Butte Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) Readiness 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.

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 from the electricity grid.

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 increase.

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 public charging facilities;
Recommendations for improvements to city and county building codes, permitting and inspection processes, and zoning and parking requirements and standards, 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 has been been developed. Staff anticipates completion of the plan toward summer 2018. For further information on the Butte PEV Readiness Plan, please contact Chris Devine at cdevine@bcag.org or 530-809-4616.

Check back soon for further updates, including dates of public workshops in early 2018.