by the provincial government, the federal government has since introduced an incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles.

The 2019 Federal Budget announced $130 million over five years (2019-2024) to deploy a network of zero-emission vehicle refuelling stations (level 2 and higher) in localized areas where Canadians live, work, and play. While the first phase of the Zero- Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program targeted public places and on-street/curbside charging locations, the second phase supports multi-unit residential buildings, workplaces, and light-duty fleets.

Obtaining the ZEVIP grant will assist the City in fulfilling strategies outlined in the 2017 Corporate Climate Action Plan (CCAP) and Community Energy Plan (CEP). For example, the CCAP estimated GHG emissions reduction of 4,000 tonnes/year through greening of the Corporate Fleet. The electrification of the Corporate Fleet, as much as possible, is necessary to reach the emission reductions goals. The CEP which speaks to the influence municipalities have in facilitating the conversion to EV vehicles, included a target of electrification of Community vehicles of 10 percent by 2041, resulting in an approximate reduction of 40,000 tonnes CO2/year.

Discussion:

The Natural Resources Canada - Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) is currently open and requires application submissions by June 11, 2020.

The program offers 50% funding for eligible project costs to install a minimum of ten (10) dual-port stations (equivalent to 20 charging spaces) on available city owned parking spots. The parking spots must be dedicated for charging vehicles only and accessible by users of the corporate fleet. The City of Windsor would need to designate 2 spots per charging unit for EV charging use.

Currently there are seven (7) fully electric vehicle charging stations located at city facilities. The NRCAN ZEVIP will create an opportunity for the City to install 10 additional dual-port stations (equivalent to 20 charging spaces) on available city owned parking locations across the City. The installations must all be new units and not replacement of existing ones. An electrical contractor will be engaged in discussions regarding this grant. The work required to ready any site location with the necessary utilities will be done by an electrical contractor. EWIN will be engaged throughout the process to assess the electricity requirements and availability.

The primary objectives of the project are:

a) to support the 2017 Community Energy Plan and Corporate Climate Action Plan’s goal of transportation vehicle greenhouse gas emissions reduction; b) to support and expand the use of electric vehicles in the corporate fleet to reduce emissions and total operating costs;