Florida City Completes Public EV Charging Station Upgrade Project

On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, each of the city of Cape Canaveral's six new networked pay-to-use dual plug Level-2 electric vehicle charging stations were officially brought online, replacing what had previously been six non-networked free-to-use charging stations.

These new NovaCHARGE 240V/32A NC8000 Series charging stations will also be utilized by electrified city fleet vehicles as their percentage increases over the next several years within the fleet. Per the city’s 2021 Resiliency Action Plan, the city’s fleet is to be entirely composed of low or zero emissions vehicles by 2035.  

"Now that each charging station is networked, fleet operators will be able to see direct data points for how many kilowatt-hours are dispensed during any given charging session," explained Zachary Eichholz, chief resilience manager for the city of Cape Canaveral. "This will allow for calculations that can give insights into not only power usage but also emissions dispensed and saved when compared to traditional internal combustion vehicles."

Power data will also be compared to fuel usage of gasoline and diesel-based vehicles to help derive information on further cost savings.

Cape Canaveral's City Council elected to have a resident/non-resident differential rate structure that will include an increased rate after the first four hours to encourage vehicle turnover.

Resident rates:

• $0.15 per kWh for the first 4 hours of charging
• $0.20 per kWh after the first 4 hours of charging

Nonresident rates:

• $0.20 per kWh for the first 4 hours of charging
• $0.25 per kWh after the first 4 hours of charging

EV-Ready for EV-Related Loads

Each city building and facility has appropriate electrical capacity to handle the additions of the new public EV charging stations and the addition of future electrified fleet vehicles for many years to come.

An example is the city of Cape Canaveral Community Center, which opened in 2022. It was built to be “EV Ready” with pre-laid conduit for underground wiring and extra circuit breaker space to handle future EV-related loads.

"Moving forward it is very important we ensure our overall power grid is designed and upgraded with EV growth in mind as demand increases," Eichholz noted. "This is something that should be done anyways as much of America’s power grid is older and susceptible to increasing instances of extreme weather."

He added that "EVs should also be seen as a grid benefit, not a risk as they can be utilized for energy storage during power outages, as backup generators, or help trim demand loads."

Meeting Area Needs While Considering the Future

These charging stations – being networked – are highly adaptable to changes across the market, both in terms of technology and regulatory issues, according to Eichholz. New software can be uploaded to them at any time, and pricing changes can be made within moments.

Eichholz added that this can be helpful in the event of regulatory change; for example, should a national pricing standard ever be implemented. The city is also in discussions with NovaCHARGE in regards to automakers adopting the North American Charging Standard en masse and how that may impact the project.

According to Eichholz, at this time, the city does not have plans to expand its public EV charging stations.

"There are now charging stations present at all major public facilities and parks helping to satisfy demand across the community for both residents and visitors," Eichholz explained. "Other entities – both private and public – are now starting to put in charging stations of their own to help account for expected demand increases in the coming years. "

One example is new hotel developments within the city, which are deploying charging stations to accommodate electrified tourism demands. Tesla is also building the barrier island’s first Supercharging site on a private parcel on State Road A1A, and Port Canaveral recently announced they will be – in collaboration with Florida Power and Light – installing their own DC fast chargers in the near future.

However, the city will reassess the installation of new stations if deemed appropriate and feasible based on market conditions and real-world data obtained by its networked stations.