The Eastern Carolina Council has funding from the Economic Development Administration to create a plan to accommodate Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) along the Highway 70 corridor in our region.
The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that there will be over 700,000 PEVs in North Carolina by 2030 with 37,000 PEVs on the road in eastern North Carolina. In order to foster economic development in eastern North Carolina, alleviate “range anxiety” (i.e., PEV drivers’ fear of being stranded without a charging station), and increase the usage and promotion of PEVs, ECC plans to develop a PEV readiness plan for the region surrounding the US route 70 corridor in Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Craven and Carteret Counties. PEV experts have advocated that proper planning for PEV charging station infrastructure is crucial to the success of installation and usage.
ECC’s partnerships with a number of public, private and non-profit entities will be essential to the development of this plan and the eventual success of plan implementation. Partners will include local governments, Tourism Development Authorities, local private businesses, Chambers of Commerce, local/regional utility providers, and Advanced Energy. Staff members from local governments that are responsible for permitting/inspections, planning, public works, and/or economic development as well as elected officials will help develop ordinances, standards, codes and processes for the installation of PEV charging stations. Because property and parking areas owned by local governments and local businesses will be identified as potential sites for PEV charging stations, it will be important to include them in the plan development process. These entities will also be educated about PEVs and their charging station infrastructure as well as the environmental and economic benefits of PEVs so that they may advocate for the installation of PEV charging stations and provide information to the public. Local/regional utility providers will provide expertise and insight into the existing power supply and usage, that site-specific PEV charging stations will be adequately supplied, and how these charging stations will impact the power grid. Lastly, Advanced Energy, an independent non-profit corporation which provides planning, technical and engineering services, will also be a key partner in this project. This firm is nationally recognized and has extensive knowledge and experience in PEV planning and preparation.
We invite you to follow the progress of the stakeholder group and this study by accessing this website periodically. Please direct any questions to ECC Executive Director
Meeting Schedule
(click on link to view material from meeting)
4/1/2016 – Charging Station Types & Requirements
4/29/2016 – Policies, codes, ordinances
5/27/2016 – Potential Locations
6/24/2016 – Education & Outreach
7/15/2016 – Incentives
8/26/2016 – Wrap Up
9/30/2016 – Review of Draft
10/28/2016 – Celebration & Next Steps
Highway 70 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan