LIHU‘E — A potential county ordinance to increase the island’s number of public charging stations is in its early stages.
Kaua‘i County Councilmember Luke Evslin previewed a draft electric vehicle (EV) bill that would increase charging outlets during the Kaua‘i Climate Action Forum’s online panel Wednesday.
The potential legislation, Evslin noted, is being crafted in collaboration with Councilmember KipuKai Kuali‘i.
“What I’m putting out here right now might not be the final form that this bill takes, and it might even be a little bit premature to be talking about this,” he said. “But I got excited about this forum.”
The draft, in its current form, would require new parking lots of over 50 stalls to include a dual level-two charging station. Existing lots would be given two years to come into compliance, and the number of required chargers in good working order would increase to four per affected lot by 2030. Failure to comply would be a zoning violation. The bill has not been introduced to the council.
The 50-stall minimum is half of current state requirements, which mandate chargers in lots of 100 stalls or more. It also presents a number of issues that need to be resolved, according to Evslin, who said the number-one problem is potentially burdening “cash-strapped” small businesses.
“This ends up bringing it down to not just the Hyatts and the Walmarts and the Targets, but a number of small businesses would certainly be lumped into having to provide charging infrastructure,” he explained.
County facilities — including every beach park and neighborhood center — would also be affected, calling for upgrades to install and maintain up to 50 new charging stations. Such an increase would eliminate the county’s ability to fully subsidize each unit, meaning drivers who now power up for free at public chargers would have to pay.
“The downside of having those charging stations is having to charge at relatively high rates, at least compared to what somebody could charge from home,” Evslin said.
“It’s going to be clear that even those high rates are still gonna be far, far, far less than the cost of filling up a car with gasoline. But I think it’s important, at least for me, to have a better understanding of whether people will still utilize the network if the price per kilowatt exceeds the price of electricity.”
Evslin said both he and Kuali‘i encourage members of the public to contact their offices to discuss the potential legislation as it’s crafted.
The councilmembers’ initiative comes in the wake of state legislation passed this summer that authorizes counties to adopt ordinances enforcing EV charger mandates and establishing penalties.
Noel Morin, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Hawai‘i EV, was Wednesday’s keynote speaker.
The state has 16,588 registered EVs in total, or 3.67% per capita. That small percentage actually reflects exponential growth, according to Morin.
Kaua‘i has more EV ownership per capita (0.68%) than Hawai‘i Island despite its far-smaller population, with 495 of Kaua‘i’s 73,298 residents driving electric vehicles. Honolulu County leads the state with 1.28% EVs per capita, or 13,061 vehicles registered among 1,020,000 people.
”We’re doing a lot here in Hawai‘i. When I first got my electric car — I think was August of 2011 — I think there were less than 500 or so EVs in the state,” he said. “It’s growing very, very well year over year.”
Both Evslin and Morin anticipate this upward trend to continue due to a host of factors, including the increasing affordability of EVs and major brands’ commitments to building fully electric fleets.
The online panel also featured Gordon Talbo, an automotive instructor at Kaua‘i Community College, who said his program has incorporated fully electric cars into its lesson plans.
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Scott Yunker, general assignment reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.