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I'm considering buying an EV. Any idea if there is a plan in place to have charging stations on bases?
EV Charging Stations
- Thread starter Piece of Cake
- Start date
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Piece of Cake said:
Not unless it's something that troops on a PAT platoon can make...
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The question isn't whether there will be charging stations on base, its whether members will be able to use them. There is one charging station on base in Trenton (a requirement for an energy certification for a new hgr), but members (CAF and civilian) have been told it is only for use by DND vehicles.
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As far as I know, DND doesn't provide free energy for personal vehicles; whether gas, natural gas, propane or electric, paying to fuel your vehicle is a personal responsibility.
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Loachman said:
Not sure if that is a good indicator.
There use to be a Bank of Montreal on every base. At one time only CAF members were allowed to shop at CANEX. Air force dress uniforms use to be tan colour.
I'm sure there is no correlation between the above or past Shell stations on bases and the future of EV charging stations. But I could be wrong.
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dapaterson said:
Interesting, I'm assuming you have never been posted to Cold Lake. There are outlets to plug your car into - think winter and cold weather. I can say for sure that this energy cost nothing to the member.
Many bases have that sort of arrangement, but that is not fuelling or recharging. I suggest that a block heater along with a battery warmer, etc would draw relatively little compared to recharging large vehicle batteries and perhaps a set of warmers. Anyways, why should taxpayers subsidize your use of your private vehicle?
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Piece of Cake said:
It is an indicator that profit (or at least "breaking even") is the way of the world. When Shell had its stations on bases they were in an arrangement with CANEX so that a percentage of the proceeds from sales went to NPF. As the small scale of these operations became less than profitable there was no incentive to continue them. A number of factors contributed, especially more members (and their families) becoming homeowners and living on the economy. Since most people tend to frequent local (to own neighbourhood) businesses for their daily needs, gas stations (or other CANEX operations) could not compete so outlets on base closed or scaled down.
The same factor (profit, loss, cost) would apply to EV charging stations. The landlord of CF bases (i.e. the federal government) must have an incentive to install them. Are there enough users that it justifies the requirement and if there is a requirement how is the cost of the systems recovered? Current TB guidelines does not permit the giving away of anything free to government employees unless there is a bona fide work requirement. In the case of electrical outlets for block heaters, the incentive is that unless employees had a means of keeping the block warm while they were working there could be significant disruption during the work day if many of the employees could not start their cars. Most of the public access EV charging stations that are currently found in Canada are either in paid public parking lots (the lucky few who snag the spots pay for it through the parking fee), or in parking lots associated with large businesses (that provide the benefit to their employees or customers as part of the cost of doing business), or (like most of the "free to public" ones in Calgary) in open public parking lots of major shopping locations (installed, paid for and operated by networks set up by EV manufacturers - like the Tesla Network so that their vehicles are more attractive to buyers).
Your block heater is pulling about 7 amps, battery heater about another amp. For comparison a Nissan Leaf is pulling 12 if it’s charging at full blast, so we’re not talking huge differences, they’re not really made to be recharged on 110v. In the winter the battery needs to warm itself to not die so one could argue for plugging it in. If you go on TD for a couple weeks the car might lacking when you get back, same as everyone else is doing with their block heaters. I can see there being some perception issues with this though if the lead is charged when it starts it’s probably pulling less power than a block heater.Old Sweat said:
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dapaterson said:
My memory isn't what it used to be, but I seem to recall seeing something within the last few months about the underground parkade at 455 DLC in Gatineau having charging stations (no extra fee over and above the regular monthly parking fee). I'll verify tomorrow.
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Blackadder1916 said:
The environmental incentive?
Budget 2016 provided $16.4M for Phase 1 of the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative. Upon successful completion in March 2018, this initial investment will result in over 100 new publicly accessible electric vehicle fast chargers, seven natural gas and three hydrogen refuelling stations in seven Provinces, surpassing all initial targets.
To continue this effort, Budget 2017 announced an additional $80M of funding over the next four years for Phase 2 of this Initiative. This will allow the Government of Canada to focus on completing the coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle fast chargers on the national highway system, continue to deploy natural gas refuelling stations along key freight corridors and establish hydrogen stations in key metropolitan centres.
There has been significant progress made in the establishment of alternative fuel infrastructure in Canada with investments being made by the federal and provincial governments as well as the private sector, however, much more needs to be done. We are encouraged by the strong partnerships we have established with industry and our provincial counterparts and look forward to building and facilitating new strategic partnerships through our Phase 2 investments.
This Program supports the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
Source: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/alternative-fuels/fuel-facts/ecoenergy/18352
