The City of Loveland has installed a dual-port electric vehicle (EV) charging station in the Linda J. Cox Trailside Parking Lot, 205 Broadway St., with the support of a grant offered by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The charging station is publicly accessible for residents and visitors. It is a Level 2 charging station — fully charging a car in four to six hours depending on the battery — and compatible with all current models of EVs. Level 2 charging stations are the most prevalent type in the US and can be found in many public locations.
The station is free to use. As a courtesy, users are asked to not charge their vehicle for longer than six hours or overnight.
This initiative supports the City of Loveland’s commitment to clean air and healthy communities.
“Given the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, this project was timely. We hope the charging station is a convenience to EV drivers and demonstrates the city’s positive outlook toward sustainable initiatives,” explained City Manager David Kennedy. Currently, construction is underway on the city’s new public works facility that includes rooftop solar panels.
The city was awarded a $15,000 grant through the Ohio EPA’s payment from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund, which covered the total project cost of $14,527.35. The Ohio EPA selected charging station sites based on proximity to major roads, amenities, and existing chargers. City staff worked with the station’s installer, Donovan Energy, to determine the best location.
The charging station is equipped with the ability to accept payments.
“At this time, the city does not plan to charge for usage but has the choice to implement fees in the future. This is a new technology for a city parking lot, so we simply are monitoring usage for the time being,” Kennedy added.
Since its March 2022 installation, a total of 324 charging sessions have occurred by 83 users. The average cost per session is $0.78. A total of 2,794.65 kWh of electricity has been used with an average of 8.63 kWh used per session.
As a result of the 324 sessions, the charging station has saved a total of 4,471 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is equal to 223.6 gallons of gasoline; 2,177 pounds of coal burned; or 0.28 percent of a home’s energy use for a year. The amount of reduced greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to diverting 0.56 tons of waste from the landfill. The estimated rate of carbon sequestered is 2.52 acres of US forests in one year.
About the Grant
In 2020, the Ohio EPA offered a one-time $3.25 million grant to support the installation of EV charging stations in 26 Ohio counties through funds received from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund.
The Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund resulted from a lawsuit that alleged VW installed defeat devices on certain vehicles models from 2009 to 2016. The devices activated during emissions testing to make vehicles appear to be compliant with the law; when in fact, during on-road operation, the vehicles emitted nine to 40 times the allowable amount of nitrogen oxides, a harmful air pollutant.
The Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund provided $75 million for Ohio to mitigate the excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions caused by VW’s use of illegal emissions testing defeat devices.
Original source can be found here.
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