LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism awarded Kaua‘i County an EV (electric vehicle) Ready Grant of $276,000, county officials announced Friday. The grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allows the county to implement
LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism awarded Kaua‘i County an EV (electric vehicle) Ready Grant of $276,000, county officials announced Friday.
The grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allows the county to implement a comprehensive EV Support and Outreach program, satisfying requirements of a recent state law, a county press release stated.
The state Legislature’s new mandate, which is unfunded by the state, requires every public facility with 100 or more marked parking stalls to have 1 percent of those stalls designated for electric vehicles with at least one EV charger by Dec. 31.
The county’s plans for the EV program include the purchase of six electric chargers — available for county and public use — that will be installed at county facilities and five commercially available electric vehicles.
County facilities that fall under the new law include: Lihu‘e Civic Center, police and court buildings, the War Memorial Convention Hall, Vidinha Stadium, Wailua Golf Course and Lydgate Beach Park.
If the county feels that a facility should not have a charger due to vandalism, theft or lack of security, it has the option of relocating a charger somewhere else, said Glenn Sato, a Kaua‘i County energy specialist who wrote the grant for the EV vehicles and charging stations.
“The county intends to have the EV user pay for the electricity, but we are still trying to work out the best solution,” Sato said. “Right now, the plan is to have a credit card reader at each charging station.”
“Supporting the establishment and use of electric vehicles on Kaua‘i and throughout the state is a major component of the Kaua‘i Energy Sustainability Plan, which was approved by the County Council a few months ago,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said. “The EV Ready Grant will enable us to take a giant step forward in this effort.”
During his inaugural speech titled Holo Holo 2020, the mayor spoke about his vision for Kaua‘i in the year 2020, which includes him driving an electric vehicle and being able to charge it at stations around the island.
Of the $279,000 budget, $183,000 to $219,000 will be used to purchase the electric vehicles.
“We modeled our proposal on a four-door passenger car, similar to the Nissan Leaf,” Sato said. The Chevy Volt may also be an option. Sato said EV dealers statewide are gearing up to offer sales and service. “The county is hopeful that Kaua‘i dealers will carry EVs as we have strong indications that the demand is there.”
County agencies that will receive the five vehicles include: Public Works, Building Division; Parks and Recreation; Public Works Automotive; Mayor’s Office/Office of Economic Development; and Finance Real Property.
OED Director George Costa said, “We are very excited about starting a comprehensive EV Support and Outreach program on Kaua‘i and have already assembled a county team to get the program off the ground that includes several (county) departments.”
The EV public outreach program also includes informational brochures, displays at public venues and presentations at energy conferences.
Estrella Seese, acting energy administrator for DBEDT’s Energy Office said, “Drivers will be saving on fuel costs, less imported oil will be used for the same amount of mileage, and in the near future, electric cars will be fueled by electricity produced from renewable resources, such as the sun and wind.”
The county participated in an EV demonstration project in the early 1990s, Sato said.
“We had a Geo Prism that was a retrofitted EV, meaning that it was a regular car that was converted to an EV by the Hawai’i Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project. KIUC and KCC also had Chevy S10 EV pickups under that research project,” he said.
“That demonstration had a quick charging station next to the Historic County Building. That Geo Prism was ultimately donated to KCC for use in their classes. We like to think that our data collection and experiences with that EV led to the current generation of EVs now on the market, so our continued interest and desire to use EVs is related to our past participation,” Sato said.
The county currently has more than 40 hybrid vehicles in its fleet, Sato said in July.
The EV Ready Grant Program is part of the Transportation Energy Diversification Project, which is supported by ARRA funds. These funds are directed for use in the Hawai’i State Energy Program through the U.S. Department of Energy.
Sato said the county will be issuing requests for proposals for charging stations.
The State of Hawai‘i recently awarded AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia, Calif., a $820,000 contract to design and build 240-volt public and semi-private charging docks throughout the state, including Kaua‘i. Charging dock locations would include high-rise buildings, car rental facilities and hotels.
