Drivers of electric vehicles have three new locations to refuel their batteries in Carlsbad with the completion of charging stations at Stagecoach Community Park, Pine Avenue Community Park and a city owned parking lot on State Street between Oak Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars is a key strategy in several city environmental policies, including the Climate Action Plan, which calls for increasing the amount of zero-emissions vehicle miles traveled in Carlsbad from a 15 percent to 25 percent by 2035.
“Emissions from gas and diesel vehicles account for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions in Carlsbad,” said Mike Grim, who administers Carlsbad’s Climate Action Plan. “Every mile you can travel in an electric vehicle, carpooling, and even biking and walking, adds up to a marked improvement in our air quality and progress in meeting our Climate Action Plan goals.”
The city previously operated a charging station at Alga Norte Community Park, bringing the total number to:
Stagecoach Community Park 10 vehicles
State & Oak parking lot 2 vehicles
Pine Avenue Community Park 2 vehicles
Alga Norte Community Park 2 vehicles
The Stagecoach and State Street locations were chosen because existing electrical service capacity made these sites the most feasible. A 2015 Center for Sustainable Energy infrastructure assessment found other city owned sites to be potentially feasible in the future, including The Shoppes at Carlsbad parking lot, City Hall, Cole Library, Dove Library and the Faraday Administration Center.
EVGO Services LLC, a division of NRG, is under a legal mandate to build out California’s electrical vehicle charging system infrastructure in workplace and public facilities statewide, at no cost to the public agencies or property owners. The City of Carlsbad entered into an agreement with EVGO Services in July of 2016 to install the base units for the new charging stations at the State Street and Stagecoach Park locations. The city then contracted with ChargePoint to provide the charging terminals.
The Pine Avenue Community Park location just underwent major improvements, including a new community center and gardens. According to Grim, when the city builds new facilities it’s become routine to work in as many environmental sustainability features as possible. In addition to the charging stations, the new Pine Avenue Community Center has solar power, natural lighting, smart lights and temperature controls, and even a water bottle filling station that tells you how many plastic bottles you save with each refill.
All of the city-operated charging stations in Carlsbad use the ChargePoint network and charge a fee of $0.35/kWh.
For more information
Charging stations: Steven Stewart 760-602-7543, steven.stewart@carlsbadca.gov
Climate Action Plan: Mike Grim 760-602-4623, mike.grim@carlsbadca.gov
