The City of Raleigh, VA has deployed its first two solar-powered electric vehicle charging units in two local parks. The City plans to occasionally move these solar-powered EV chargers to different areas of the city which currently lack an EV charging infrastructure in order to allow people to try them out. This should also guide the City to better understand where to prioritize installing permanent future EV charging.
Increasing clean energy and providing EV chargers are two of the strategies in Raleigh’s Community Climate Action Plan, which has the goals of reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 80% by the year 2050, addressing equity, and building community resilience to the impacts of climate change. The EV chargers are a valuable contribution to these goals in several ways: by serving as a power source during emergencies and severe weather events; reducing GHG emissions; and by powering EVs with solar that should promote the use of electric vehicles.
In support of EV charging expansion, the City co-authored the EV Ready Playbook in partnership with Advanced Energy. The playbook provides best practices to residents, developers, and businesses for EV infrastructure, including: guidance on codes; permitting; hardware and software considerations; and installation procedures.
The two chargers were purchased using part of a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. The grant will also be used for an electric bicycle incentive program and for electric vehicle chargers for the City’s fleet vehicles. The City was also awarded one solar charger from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, which will be procured soon.