Council okays EV charging stations

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — With an eye to the future, members of Leamington Council and administration ushered in something completely new and different at the Tuesday, March 22 regular council meeting.

A report to council from administration recommended that council approve an application to ‘Charge Up Windsor-Essex County’ for the installation of four electric vehicle charging stations in the municipality.

Recent studies have indicated that by 2025, 10 per cent of light vehicles will be electric and by 2030, that figure will rise to 30 per cent.

The total projected cost of the project is $116,200, with the municipality contributing $100,000 through the Provincial Modernization Grant.

The recommendation included installing the four stations at the town’s municipal building at 111 Erie Street North.

Each station would have two ‘heads’, allowing for simultaneous charging of two electric vehicles (EVs), for a total of eight EVs all together.

This type of infrastructure needs to be in place before council can consider the replacing of municipal fleet vehicles with electric ones.

The report — by Essex Energy — outlined the reasons to develop short and long-term strategies to transition to zero-emission vehicles.

As expected, council members had many questions on this new technology.

“Will some of this equipment become obsolete like we’ve seen with new technology over the years?” asked Councillor Bill Dunn.

Councillor Paul Tiessen wondered if there is enough power in the community to support 30 per cent of vehicles being electric in the future.

Councillor Trevor Jones was concerned about the location at the town hall.

“I’m wondering about the site location,” said Jones. “We have no electric vehicles currently in our fleet. I just don’t want to see these stations left idle.”

Jones proposed that perhaps the recreation complex might be a better fit, seeing that visitors who may come to the complex, may get some use out of the stations.

“I think 249 Sherk would be a better location with lots of potential for exposure,” he said.

Rob Sharon, Leamington’s manager of infrastructure, said it had been considered.

“We weighed many options, including the complex, Seacliff Park and Mersea Park,” said Sharon. “But the town hall choice was based on having municipal vehicles there to be charged.”

Sharon explained that the bulk of the cost isn’t in the charging stations themselves, but in the preparation and installation of the infrastructure.

“The cost would rise substantially to connect to panels and run conduit at other sites,” he said.

In addition to location considerations, administration also explained the difference between the three levels of charging stations available, with the Level 1 station taking the longest to charge at 120 volts. Level 2 would be a 240-volt station with a slightly higher cost, and Level 3 is the top level charger which charges vehicles very quickly. The Level 3 charger is currently considered to be cost prohibitive.

The recommendation from administration is for the charging stations to be Level 2 chargers and for council to consider future uses for them, such as offering ‘free’ charging to residents and visitors or charging a nominal fee similar to a parking meter.

All members of council were happy to discuss the possibilities.

“When I went to Europe in 2006, I was in awe of those charging stations,” said Mayor Hilda MacDonald. “This is good for the future and we are doing our part.”

“I think we lead by example and start introducing this technology around town,” said Councillor Tim Wilkinson. “I’m all for giving this a try.”

In the end, the vote said it all. The motion was carried unanimously.