The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Adopts EV readiness plan with Crested Butte
By Kendra Walker
During their April 1 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council agreed to adopt a Readiness for Electric Vehicles (REV) Plan for Mt. CB and Crested Butte. The REV plan outlines goals and strategies to support an expected increase in regional and visitor EV adoption and inform planners of data points such as: anticipated EV adoption over time, public charging utilization rates and origin of EV drivers, barriers to adopting EVs, strategies to accommodate EV drivers and EV infrastructure and potential funding sources.
The cost of the project is $38,839.50. The Towns of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte received $28,877 in funding through the Colorado Energy Office to develop an EV readiness plan, and the remaining $9,962.50 match requirement will be shared equally between the two jurisdictions.
The state of Colorado estimates that 82% of vehicles on lots will be electric by 2030 and aims to increase the current 156,281 EVs registered in the state to 940,000 by 2030. It is expected that the current 133 EVs registered in Crested Butte or Mt. Crested Butte will go to between 400-600 by 2030. Town planner Shannon Hessler told the council that despite the uncertainties happening on the federal side, the state of Colorado is continuing with their EV goals.
“The purpose of this plan is to ensure that when driving a vehicle is unavoidable, our communities will have the infrastructure, policy and knowledge to allow that vehicle to be all-electric,” Hessler said in a memo to the council. “The Towns will prepare for widespread EV adoption by improving the accessibility and convenience of EV ownership and use for community members, fleets, and visitors. EV readiness efforts will be implemented in a way that complements regional low-carbon transportation strategies and meets the unique needs of the North Gunnison Valley.”
Strategies within the plan includes improving access to convenient and affordable EV charging infrastructure, providing education about EVs and encouraging more electric transportation alternatives like EVs. It calls out working with Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) to inform the communities when more public EV charging infrastructure is needed. “Gunnison County doesn’t have a super high rate of EVs but we have a lot of visitors with EVs,” said Hessler. “We just want to find that balance to be ready for that increase and also not have too many chargers too soon. This will help guide us in hitting that metric of when we need them.”
The town also aims to install more EV charging infrastructure at town facilities in the future and transition the town’s transit and fleet vehicles to electric vehicles. In addition to approving the REV plan, the council approved an EV First Purchasing Policy which prioritizes EV purchases for all future town vehicle purchases when practical. While considering EV first, the town will still compare the total cost of ownership, vehicle purpose and overall fuel savings and maintenance costs. The town recently purchased a new Ford Maverick hybrid utility vehicle to be used by the Maintenance and Parks Department, which replaces its 2000 Ford Ranger that has been “a workhorse for the town for the past 25 years,” according to town manager Carlos Velado.
The Crested Butte council approved the plan at its April 7 meeting.
