North Carolina City to Expand EV Charging Capabilities

City employees in Charlotte, North Carolina, will have more electric vehicle (EV) charging locations to choose from, after the city council approved a contract to purchase and install 25 new charging stations late last month. The charging stations will be built at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center parking deck and will serve the city's growing fleet of EVs.

Council members voted unanimously to award the $1.15 million contract to the lowest bidder, Miles-McClellan Construction Company, which will install the charging stations on the fourth and fifth levels of the parking deck. The installation is expected to be finished in late 2023.

Serving a Growing EV Fleet

The ultimate purpose of the new stations will be to charge the city-owned EVs, according to a press release. The city currently has 63 EVs in its fleet. The 2023 budget adds another 55 EVs. That will bring the city to a total of 174 EVs budgeted, planned, or already in service. Electric buses, trucks, and vans are being integrated into the fleet while the city also makes plans for the first all-electric fire station and electric fire truck.

The parking deck installation is the city's largest charging project to date, with enough ports for 49 vehicles to charge at the same time. It brings the city's total inventory of EV charging stations to 130 with a total of 243 ports. Fifty of those stations are open to the public, including stations on the first floor of the Davidson Street parking deck. In 2020, Government Fleet reported that the city purchased four EV ARC solar-powered EV charging stations for city and public use.

In 2021, charging stations owned by the city that were open to the public charged 2,039 different vehicles.

Funding for the upcoming project comes from bonds and debt financing available through the city's Capital Investment Plan.

The charging stations support the Strategic Energy Action Plan goal of fueling the city's fleet and facilities by 100% zero-carbon sources by 2030. The plan was adopted in December 2018.