Jerome Carman
The first phase of the installation of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) for the Redwood Coast Electric Vehicle Charging Network (REVNet) is nearly complete. REVNet is a coordinated effort led by the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) to jumpstart public charging infrastructure on the North Coast. Over the last year, 10 EVCSs have been installed at nine locations across Humboldt County: Trinidad, McKinleyville, Arcata, Eureka (two stations), Willow Creek, Ferndale, Fortuna, and Rio Dell.
In 2012, SERC partnered with the RCEA in the development of a Readiness Plan for the North Coast region of California. One of the key results of this work was the projected number of publically accessible EVCSs needed to support an on-road fleet comprised of 2% electric vehicles (approximately 3,000 vehicles). In 2013, SERC again partnered with RCEA in the pursuit of funding for the first installation phase of charging stations in Humboldt County, which was successfully awarded under CEC grant ARV-13-029.
This project involves many partners, with SERC coordinating the installation effort as Owner’s Engineer for RCEA. Dave Carter is managing construction, with Kristen Radecsky and Jerome Carman supporting. RCEA and SERC partnered with OurEvolution Energy & Engineering to lead the civil engineering tasks, and GHD to review electrical plans. McKeever Energy & Electric Inc., who partnered with DCI Builders for civil contracting work, won the public bid for an electrical contractor to install EVCSs at seven of the nine sites. The other two sites, McKinleyville Shopping Center (owned by Pierson Company) and St. Joseph Hospital, used their own electrical contractors, Ambrosini and Sons and Colburn Electric respectively.
RCEA is piloting a non-profit ownership model. The stations are planned to be operational in March.
