The city of Lincoln will take steps towards becoming more electric vehicle friendly, including plans to install more charging stations, bracing our electric grid, and getting ahead of potential bumps in the road.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and local officials outlined the Lincoln Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, outside the Greenhouse Innovation Center on Nebraska Innovation Campus. This is first major project produced by the Climate Smart Collaborative, a group comprised of officials with the City of Lincoln, Lincoln Public Schools, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln Electric System, and Lancaster County.
“This plan, the first one of its kind in Nebraska, is a roadmap for easing the local transition to electric vehicles by identifying and clearing barriers to adoption, preparing our infrastructure for the additional electrical load, and identifying opportunities for cost savings along the way,” said the Mayor at the Thursday morning press conference.
The plan will serve as a proactive effort to identify challenges for individuals and businesses in making the switch to electric vehicles and possible solutions for management of added electrical demand, as well as finding the best placements and types of EV charging stations for the city.
Representatives of the Collaborative said the EV Readiness Plan will strengthen their efforts to:
- Continue conversion of the City fleet to 100% electric, renewable or alternative fuel by 2040;
- Continue progress on UNL’s Environment, Sustainability, and Resilience Master Plan by developing strategy around future fleet diversification and charging infrastructure;
- Help prepare for LPS transition of more than 300-vehicle fleet to electric and alternative fuels;
- Continue LES planning for expansion of capacity and infrastructure to help the City become more EV-friendly.
The Collaborative’s first steps to implementing the EV Readiness Plan will be to determine optimal locations for additional charging stations, work with public and private partners to provide the best access for Lincoln residents and seek grant funding to expand Lincoln’s charging infrastructure, Mayor Gaylor Baird said.
Mayor Gaylor Baird also noted that Lincoln is one of 15 cities nationally that has been selected to participate in the Clean Energy to Community Cohort offered through the Department of Energy, the World Resources Institute, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The program will provide technical expertise and coaching from some of the country’s experts regarding installation of public EV chargers.