Kern County Electric Vehicle Charging Station Blueprint May 2019 Submitted to Kern Council of Governments Submitted by Center for Sustainable Energy Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG) Ahron Hakimi Executive Director Rob Ball Deputy Director - Planning Kern COG Board of Directors Members Jose Gurrola, Jr. Arvin Bob Smith Bakersfield Nicholas Lessenevitch California City Grace Vallejo Delano John Crump Maricopa Manuel Cantu McFarland Mike Mower Ridgecrest Gilbert Alvarado Shafter Orchel Krier Taft Philip A. Smith Tehachapi Gilberto Reyna Wasco Zack Scrivner Kern County Supervisor, District 2 David Couch Kern County Supervisor, District 4 Ex-Officio Members Gail Miller Caltrans District 6 Brent Green Caltrans District 9 Cindy Parra Golden Empire Transit Scott Kiernan Joint Planning Policy Board California Energy Commission Brian Fauble Energy Commission Specialist Project Manager You are encouraged to publish or otherwise make publicly Linda Urata Regional Planner, Kern COG available the results of the work conducted under the award. No product or report produced as a result of work funded by Consulting Team this program shall be represented to be endorsed by the Ener- David Lange Senior Manager, CSE gy Commission, and all such products or reports shall include Katie Witherspoon Senior Planner, CSE the following statement: Kevin Wood Specialist, CSE LEGAL NOTICE Funding Acknowledgment This document was prepared as a result of work sponsored by the California Energy Commission. It does not necessarily This project was supported through funding from the represent the views of the Energy Commission, its employees, California Energy Commission (Energy Commission). or the State of California. The Energy Commission, the State of California, its employees, contractors, and subcontractors make no warranty, express or implied, and assume no legal lia- bility for the information in this document; nor does any party represent that the use of this information will not infringe upon privately owned rights. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................5 EV PRIMER....................................................................................................................................................................9 EXISTING CONDITIONS...............................................................................................................................................29 SITING & GAPS ANALYSIS...........................................................................................................................................47 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ..........................................................................................................................................115 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................................133 ENDNOTES ...................................................................................................................................................................134 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................................................136 INTRODUCTION The Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG) and Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) were awarded a California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) Electric Vehicle (EV) Ready Communities Challenge grant to develop an Electric Vehicle Charging Station Blueprint (Blueprint). The Blueprint will place Kern County on a pathway to achieve its Sustainable Communities Strategy greenhouse gas emission reduction goals at an accelerated rate through identifying high-impact transportation electrification projects and assigning community-specific implementation strategies to reach the following project goals. • Project Goal No. 1: Develop and deploy a Blueprint to accelerate the transition to electrified transportation within Kern County with a holistic and futuristic view of regional transportation planning and consideration for disadvantaged communities. The Blueprint identifies two scenarios for Kern County stakeholders to meet the State of California’s 2015 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan goal of 1.5 million ZEVs on California roads by the year 2025. • Project Goal No. 2: Identify at least 12 shovel-ready sites (with one in each Kern COG member agency jurisdiction [e.g., Cities of Arvin, Bakersfield, California City, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi, Wasco and the County of Kern]) and position those sites for California Energy Commission Phase II funding or other funding. The process to achieve these project goals includes documenting transportation electrification progress to date, engaging with stakeholders, creating project concepts, developing an agreed upon methodology for ranking projects, developing a plan around the highest ranked projects, developing infrastructure deployment strategies and metrics, and producing toolkits to support regional stakeholders meeting project goals. Blueprint Structure The Blueprint is divided into the following sections: Report Section Description Describes the project goals, outlines the structure of the document Section I. Introduction and recognizes regional contributors to the Blueprint development and deployment. Provides details on EV charging equipment, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Section II. EVI Primer (EVI) processes, associated costs, business models to consider, and innovations. Section III. Existing Conditions Discusses the current state of EVI in Kern County, projections and supporting factors for growth, and barriers. Section IV. Charging Identifies High Impact Projects suitable for EVI investment and gaps that need Infrastructure Siting & Gaps to be addressed by the Blueprint. Analysis Identifies the key actions, responsibilities, metrics, and the deployment Section V. Implementation Plan schedule for Kern County to meet EVI goals. Summarizes findings and recommendations for Kern County to meet project Section VI. Conclusions goals. Regional Contributors Name Organization Jeff Petrini A-C Electric Caroline Farrell Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment Ace Pascual ChargePoint Brendan O'Donnell ChargePoint Christine Viterelli City of Arvin Alex Lee City of McFarland Bard Lower City of Ridgecrest Mark Staples City of Taft Dave Lange CSE Katie Witherspoon CSE Kevin Wood CSE Jennifer Sanchez CSU, Bakersfield Jeramiah Cravens Eastern Kern APCD Aric Ohana Envoy Jack Axelrod Envoy Paul Hernandez Envoy Collin Burnell EV Community Representative Paul Gipe EV Community Representative 6 | Kern County Electric Vehicle Blueprint Name Organization Bob Snoddy Kern COG Linda Urata Kern COG Rob Ball Kern COG Bill Elliott Kern Community College District Dave Teasdale Kern Community College District Ariana Joven Kern County Farmers Bureau Jasmene del Aguila Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability Babeeta Nagra Pacific Gas & Electric Marcos Montes Pacific Gas & Electric Forest Williams PowerFlex Systems Brian Dodds San Joaquin Valley APCD Dante Sanson San Joaquin Valley APCD Jacob Whitson San Joaquin Valley APCD Nhia Vu San Joaquin Valley APCD Gordon Nipp Sierra Club Representative Michelle Marquette Southern California Edison Traeger Cotten Southern California Edison Bill Rock Southern California Edison Electric Vehicle Charging Station Blueprint | 7 EV CHARGING PRIMER Adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is increasing both statewide and within Kern County. As more drivers switch to electric powertrains, demand will rise for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS), also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Following is a high-level overview of the types and uses of EVCS, potential innovative charging technologies and strategies, and a summary of costs. EVCS Technologies EVCS are typically classified by three “levels” of power delivery: Level 1, Level 2 and direct current (DC) fast charging.1 The primary distinction between these levels is the input voltage – Level 1 uses 110/120 volts, Level 2 uses 208/240 volts, and DC fast chargers (DCFC) use between 208 and 480 volts, and usually require three-phase power inputs.2 Various manufacturers produce each level of EVCS, with a variety of products with varying prices, applications and functionality. Figure 1 illustrates a general overview of the three general charging speeds, showing the differing characteristics of each of the charging levels. Figure 1: Key Differences Between Level 1, Level 2, and DC Fast Charge EVCS Characteristics LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 DCFC • Standand current via • Requires installation • Requires installation electrical outlet of charging equipment of charging equipment • 8-12 hours to fully charge, and may require utility and may require utility although larger batteries upgrades upgrades could take 1-2 days • 4-8 hours to fully charge • 80% charge in as little as 30 • Inside or outside locations • Inside or outside locations minutes • Standard outlets and • Public use, often requiring • Relatively high-cost standard J1772 coupler payment and provider compared to Level 2 chargers • In-vehicle power network interfaces conversion • Requires utility upgrades and dedicated circuits Level 1 Charging In general, Level 1 charging is cost efficient when an existing 110V/120V outlet is present. In this case, an EV