WALNUT CREEK Looking to further its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage residents to switch to electric vehicles, Walnut Creek city leadership have signaled their support for investing more into electrifying its fleet and public charging infrastructure.
Details for the vision are laid out in a draft Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan , building off the citys Sustainability Action Plan , a 2023 guiding document for reaching net-zero emissions by 2045.
Its a great future to look forward to, when we can implement this, Councilmember Craig DeVinney said during a City Council meeting last week.
About 60% of Walnut Creeks greenhouse gas emissions community-wide stem from transportation, largely because the suburban city was built in a way that requires people to drive to get to where they need to go, staff said.
Recognizing that fact, the Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan studied the citys fleet of cars to determine when they could be replaced with electric alternatives.
Of the 175 cars assessed, 66 will have to be converted to electric options in the coming years due to the states Advanced Clean Fleets policy , overseen by the California Air Resources Board, which requires local and state agencies to transition to electric or hybrid cars.
A total of 12 vehicles are already fully electric, three are plug-in hybrids and 25 are non-plug-in-hybrids. The citys current fleet replacement policy recommends assessing non-public safety vehicles every 10-12 years of use or when they reach 100,000 miles. Under that standard, all fleet vehicles would need to be replaced at least once in the next 11 years, with most eligible in the next five years.
Transitioning city vehicles to EV options is estimated to cost an additional $5.6 to $6.7 million over a 14-year period. Thats compared to a scenario in which the city replaces its fleet with internal combustion engine vehicles instead of electric vehicles, according to staff.
Sticking with gas vehicles isnt a feasible plan because of the Advanced Clean Fleets policy, staff noted.
The $1.1 million cost variance of shifting to EVs depends on whether the city purchases EVs when required under the Advanced Clean Fleets policy, referred to as ACF Core, or if they follow a ACF Plus approach in which they meet state requirements and also purchase additional EV vehicles when financially and operationally feasible.
Those estimates also account for a need to upgrade the citys fleet charging infrastructure. That objective is being accomplished in part through PG&Es EV Fleet Electrification Program, still in the design phase, which will result in two additional fast chargers at the Heather Farm Corp Yard at an estimated cost of $500,100.
Another roughly $1.3 million is expected to be needed to complete upgrades at the Lawrence Way Corp Yard, where most of the fleet would be charged. That project calls for installing 14 new chargers, two of which would be fast chargers.
As for public EV chargers, councilmembers agreed that increasing the consistency in EV charging access could have a big impact in encouraging people to switch to eclectic alternatives.
Through the citys public charger program, started in 2017, Walnut Creek offers access to 40 charging ports across four garages and two surface parking lots. A total of 150-200 publicly accessible chargers are located in or near the city, according to a staff assessment.
Charging for that service would not be a major deterrent, councilmembers said. They also agreed that the program could be better maintained by aiming to recoup about 90% of the cost through fees and finding a vendor to operate the program.
As an EV owner, I say cut the cord, dont go hybrid, just go all electric, Mayor Pro Tem Matt Francois said. The charging network is there now, and its continuing to grow. And Im glad to see the city is part of that.
加州核桃溪市为推进减排目标并鼓励居民改用电动汽车，该市领导层近日表态支持加大投资，推动市政车队电动化及公共充电基础设施建设。
该愿景的具体细节已在一份《电动汽车战略计划》草案中阐明，该草案基于该市的《可持续发展行动计划》制定。后者是2023年发布的指导性文件，旨在实现到2045年净零排放的目标。
市议员克雷格·德文尼在上周的市议会会议上表示：“当我们能够实施这一计划时，未来将非常值得期待。”
工作人员表示，核桃溪市约60%的社区温室气体排放来自交通运输，这主要源于该郊区城市的规划方式迫使居民必须驾车出行。
基于这一事实，《电动汽车战略计划》对该市车队进行了研究，以确定何时可用电动车型替代现有车辆。
在评估的175辆汽车中，由于加州空气资源委员会监督的《先进清洁车队政策》要求地方和州政府机构逐步过渡到电动或混合动力汽车，未来几年内将有66辆需改装为电动车型。
目前共有12辆纯电动汽车、3辆插电式混合动力车和25辆非插电式混合动力车。该市现行的车队更新政策建议，对非公共安全车辆每使用10至12年或行驶里程达到10万英里时进行评估。按照这一标准，所有车队车辆都需在未来11年内至少更换一次，其中大部分车辆在未来五年内即符合更换条件。
根据工作人员测算，将城市车辆更换为电动车型预计将在14年内额外花费560万至670万美元。这一数据是基于与继续使用内燃机车辆而非电动汽车的替代方案对比得出的。
工作人员指出，由于《先进清洁车队政策》的实施，继续使用燃油车并非可行方案。
向电动汽车转型产生的110万美元成本差异，取决于市政府是选择按照《先进清洁车队政策》（简称ACF Core）的要求采购电动汽车，还是采用ACF Plus模式——即在满足州政府要求的同时，在财政和运营条件允许时额外购置更多电动车辆。
这些预估数据还考虑了升级市政车队充电基础设施的需求。该目标正通过太平洋天然气与电力公司（PG&E）的“车队电气化计划”部分实现——目前该项目仍处于设计阶段，预计将耗资50.01万美元，在希瑟农场公司停车场增设两台快速充电桩。
劳伦斯路公司停车场预计还需投入约130万美元完成升级改造，该场地将承担车队大部分车辆的充电任务。该项目计划安装14台新充电桩，其中包含2台快速充电桩。
关于公共电动汽车充电桩，市议员们一致认为，提高充电服务的覆盖率和稳定性，将对鼓励民众转向多元化的电动汽车选择产生重大影响。
自2017年启动的公共充电桩项目以来，核桃溪市已在四个车库和两个地面停车场提供了40个充电端口。根据工作人员评估，该市及周边地区共有150至200个公共充电桩可供使用。
市议员们表示，对该服务收费不会成为主要阻碍因素。他们还一致认为，通过收取费用覆盖约90%的成本，并寻找供应商来运营该计划，可以更好地维持项目的运行。
代理市长马特·弗朗索瓦（Matt Francois）表示："作为电动车车主，我建议彻底摆脱燃油车，不要选择混动车型，直接转向纯电动。充电网络现已完备，并且仍在持续扩展。我很高兴看到我们城市也参与其中。"
