Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities Manager Philo Shelton, right, checks out one of the EV chargers in 2024 at the Municipal Building. Council unanimously approved to purchase and install three new EV chargers at the Municipal Building during its July 8 meeting. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos County Council has approved purchasing and constructing new electric vehicle (EV) chargers; this approval is a bit of a milestone since the chargers are the first in the County’s EV expansion project to be installed.
The purchase was approved 6-1 with Councilor Ryn Herrman absent during the July 8 meeting.
County Sustainability Manager Angelica Gurule explained the details of the project.
The chargers will be installed at the Municipal Building; the three existing chargers will be removed, disposed of, and replaced with six new ones. Gurule explained to the Los Alamos Daily Post that they are antiquated. The Municipal Building parking lot was selected because it can serve the community, residents, visitors and the County fleet, Gurule said. Plus, it offers proximity to electric infrastructure.
The new chargers will offer a total of 19.2 KW per port. Each charger will offer two ports, or 12 charging ports total. The cost will be 23 cents per KW; this rate was set by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), Gurule said. She added the new chargers will be able to track their usage.
Along with DPU, the County Sustainability Division partnered with the County Manager’s Office and Public Works on this project.
Additionally, the Sustainability Division collaborated with the Los Alamos Fire Department to incorporate best management practices such as requiring emergency shut-off switches and bollards.
“Both safety measures will protect the public, the equipment and first responders in case of an emergency,” Gurule said.
Also, the EV chargers will be ADA compliant and there will be designated ADA charging spaces.
According to the staff report included in the meeting’s agenda, the total project budget is $730,000.
Council Chair Theresa Cull expressed her support for the project.
“I’ve heard from various community members that there is a need, I think this is a good thing … I do think we need to charge people for the electricity and maintenance of these units,” she said.
In related sustainability news, Gurule updated Council.
First off, she said Miguel Jimenez was hired as the senior project manager to focus on implementing sustainability initiatives.
Also, Gurule highlighted the progress being made in several other areas.
For instance, a request for proposals for climate marketing and engagement services garnered 11 responses. A vendor should be selected in the next few weeks. Gurule said the cost for this service totals $80,000.
Gurule and DPU Water and Energy Conservation Coordinator Abbey Hayward are researching different avenues to provide households with energy audits. One option considered was to task interns to do this, but Gurule noted there are liability issues with this option. Therefore, the preferred option is to contract professionals.
The County fleet conversion plan and community-wide EV charging plan kicked off in March, Gurule said. A community vision meeting was held as well as one-on-one meetings with County and Los Alamos Public Schools staff to address their needs and concerns as well as vehicle utilization. There is also an EV charger survey available for the public to take that is open until July 31 (survey link: lacnm.com/EVSurvey).
Stantec, a County contractor, has done a fleet and facility condition assessment and methodology is being synced with DPU’s Electrification Study with another contractor, Burns and McDonnel, to create projections towards future EV adoption.
Additionally, audits are continuing at County facilities.
Gurule said the draft fleet conversion plan is expected to be presented to council in October.
Moving on to the Climate Action Plan, Gurule reported that the County will have a dashboard to measure greenhouse gas inventory and track progress towards reducing emissions. This dashboard will be available for the County and public to view. To implement the actions in the plan, a team of County staff has been formed. The team is working on 13 initiatives that the Climate Action Plan identified for ongoing and immediate actions.
These initiatives are:
- Expanding electric energy resiliency;
- Conducting recycling and composting outreach and education;
- Promoting green stormwater infrastructure and low-impact development;
- Investing in public climate education campaigns;
- Supporting local food systems;
- Encouraging community energy efficiency and electrification retrofits;
- Adopting green building standards;
- Promoting electric vehicle adoption;
- Developing electric vehicle infrastructure plan;
- Expanding mixed-use, transit-oriented development policies;
- Developing a commuter trip reduction program;
- Conducting a vulnerability assessment; and
- Expanding community partnerships.
This is not the final time County Council will hear about the County’s sustainability efforts; Gurule told the Los Alamos Daily Post the plan is to present quarterly reports to the council.