Fast charging stations for electrical vehicles (EVs) could be coming to the curling club, Minoru Park and South Arm Community Centre over the next three years.
On Wednesday, city council will consider whether to endorse the first of multiple phases to expand Richmond’s EV charging infrastructure.
The first phase is projected to cost $7 million and will add between eight and 10 level-three chargers to three sites across the city – a total of 24 to 30 chargers.
The proposed sites are the Richmond Curling Club, Minoru Park and South Arm Community Centre, based on surrounding housing types, population density and proximity to EV charging, reads a staff report.
Level-three chargers have the ability to charge an EV up to 80 per cent in less than 40 minutes. Each charger will have a power output between 150 and 200 kW. In contrast, level-two EV chargers deliver about six kW of power and can charge an EV in six to 12 hours, according to the report.
The proposed expansion aims to accelerate the rate of local EV adoption.
Richmond’s current charging network consists of 57 public chargers – 53 are level-two chargers and four are level-three chargers.
Thirty per cent of new car sales in Richmond are EVs and more than 40 per cent of these vehicles are registered in the City Centre area, according to 2023 data from ICBC.
The BC Zero Emission Vehicle Act currently requires 100 per cent of new vehicle sales to be a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) by 2035. To meet this target, Richmond is projected to need 208 level-three and 3,722 level-two chargers, according to a Metro Vancouver report.
The power output of Richmond’s 57 public charging ports is 600 kW. For phase one, staff propose to add an additional 3,000 kW for a total output of 3.6 MW.
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