Walnut Creek eyes fleet electrification, better public EV charging program

Walnut Creek city leadership signaled support for electrifying its fleet and expanding public EV charging, with a draft Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan projecting $5.6 to $6.7 million in additional costs over 14 years to replace 66 of 175 assessed vehicles with electric alternatives under California's Advanced Clean Fleets policy. The plan also includes upgrades at two corp yards, including 14 new chargers at Lawrence Way Corp Yard for $1.3 million and two fast chargers at Heather Farm Corp Yard for $500,100, while the city's public charger program currently offers 40 ports across four garages and two surface lots.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready...WALNUT CREEK — Looking to further its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage residents to switch to electric vehicles, Walnut Creek city leadership have signaled their support for investing more into electrifying its fleet and public charging infrastructure. Details for the vision are laid out in a draft Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan https://walnutcreek.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view id=12&event id=2965&meta id=358082 , building off the city’s Sustainability Action Plan https://www.walnutcreekca.gov/government/departments/e-c-o-sustainability/climate-action/sustainability-action-plan , a 2023 guiding document for reaching net-zero emissions by 2045. “It’s a great future to look forward to, when we can implement this,” Councilmember Craig DeVinney said during a City Council meeting last week. About 60% of Walnut Creek’s greenhouse gas emissions community-wide stem from transportation, largely because the suburban city was built in a way that requires people to drive to get to where they need to go, staff said. Recognizing that fact, the Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan studied the city’s fleet of cars to determine when they could be replaced with electric alternatives. Of the 175 cars assessed, 66 will have to be converted to electric options in the coming years due to the state’s Advanced Clean Fleets policy https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/advanced-clean-fleets-regulation-state-local-government-agency-fleet , overseen by the California Air Resources Board, which requires local and state agencies to transition to electric or hybrid cars. A total of 12 vehicles are already fully electric, three are plug-in hybrids and 25 are non-plug-in-hybrids. The city’s current fleet replacement policy recommends assessing non-public safety vehicles every 10-12 years of use or when they reach 100,000 miles. Under that standard, all fleet vehicles would need to be replaced at least once in the next 11 years, with most eligible in the next five years. Transitioning city vehicles to EV options is estimated to cost an additional $5.6 to $6.7 million over a 14-year period. That’s compared to a scenario in which the city replaces its fleet with internal combustion engine vehicles instead of electric vehicles, according to staff. Sticking with gas vehicles isn’t a feasible plan because of the Advanced Clean Fleets policy, staff noted. The $1.1 million cost variance of shifting to EVs depends on whether the city purchases EVs when required under the Advanced Clean Fleets policy, referred to as ACF Core, or if they follow a ACF Plus approach in which they meet state requirements and also purchase additional EV vehicles when financially and operationally feasible. Those estimates also account for a need to upgrade the city’s fleet charging infrastructure. That objective is being accomplished in part through PG&E’s EV Fleet Electrification Program, still in the design phase, which will result in two additional fast chargers at the Heather Farm Corp Yard at an estimated cost of $500,100. Another roughly $1.3 million is expected to be needed to complete upgrades at the Lawrence Way Corp Yard, where most of the fleet would be charged. That project calls for installing 14 new chargers, two of which would be fast chargers. As for public EV chargers, councilmembers agreed that increasing the consistency in EV charging access could have a big impact in encouraging people to switch to eclectic alternatives. Through the city’s public charger program, started in 2017, Walnut Creek offers access to 40 charging ports across four garages and two surface parking lots. A total of 150-200 publicly accessible chargers are located in or near the city, according to a staff assessment. Charging for that service would not be a major deterrent, councilmembers said. They also agreed that the program could be better maintained by aiming to recoup about 90% of the cost through fees and finding a vendor to operate the program. “As an EV owner, I say cut the cord, don’t go hybrid, just go all electric,” Mayor Pro Tem Matt Francois said. “The charging network is there now, and it’s continuing to grow. And I’m glad to see the city is part of that.”