BCAG - Butte County Association of Governments

Butte PEV Readiness Plan

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

A Project Development Team (PDT) was assembled to guide development of the plan, which included city and county staff as well as representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., California State University Chico, Butte County Air Quality Management District, and the Chico Electric Vehicle Association.

Public workshops were held on March 27th and 28th. Both workshops were identical in format and were "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

The final Butte PEV Readiness Plan was formally accepted by the BCAG Board on May 24th, 2018. See below for appendices.

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 for 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 was coordinated through a Project Development Team (PDT) that included 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 were held to solicit additional public input.

The Plan includes 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.

For further information on the Butte PEV Readiness Plan, please contact Chris Devine at cdevine@bcag.org or 530-809-4616.