Abstract Manager

Metro Vancouver is at the front lines of EV adoption in Canada. Indeed, BC’s EV growth rate recently overtook that of Quebec: in the third quarter of 2022, about one in every seven vehicles sold in BC was a battery EV, while it was one in every five in the Vancouver CMA.[1]

Well-planned EV charging infrastructure is a core component of supporting continued EV adoption. As a federation of 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation representing nearly 2.5 million people, Metro Vancouver is well placed to develop a long-term regional strategy for investment, in line with its Clean Air Plan.

Metro Vancouver and its partners, Translink and BC Hydro, have retained Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors to develop guidance for the development of EV infrastructure that will support local governments, utilities, and companies in the region by suggesting where charging infrastructure of different types should be located, the estimated costs and business case for building and operating this charging infrastructure, and policies that governments can implement to enable construction.

In this presentation, staff from Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors will share the results of this work, while also drawing on their extensive experience developing public charging and EV-ready retrofit strategies for provincial, municipal, and federal governments across the country. Key elements of the presentation will include:

• Spatial analysis and quantitative methods used to conduct a charging infrastructure needs assessment, including EV infrastructure demand forecasts for public, home, and commercial shared charging;
• The critical role of EV-ready apartment and condo building retrofits to offer efficient and attractive home charging to a wider population, and the policy relationship between public and home charging;
• Equity considerations related to charging infrastructure deployment including distributional, procedural, and contracting/ownership approaches;
• Business case findings for different types of charging infrastructure as demand grows.

While the presentation will involve specific findings from Metro Vancouver, it will also provide best practices that are relevant in any jurisdiction, equipping attendees with an understanding of the core concepts and components of an EV charging infrastructure investment strategy.