local ev charging rate incentive
AEL&P offers a discounted rate for separately-metered nighttime charging and the option to rent charge equipment. If you meter the electricity delivered to your vehicle, you can get a discount for charging done between 10PM and 5AM. You may also rent a charging station with pre-wired meter from AELP for a monthly fee, which will automatically make you eligible for the lower, nighttime charging rate. Check out their options here, or call 780-2222.
CBJ EV permit?
The CBJ is currently working with groups like Renewable Juneau, the Commission on Sustainability and the Juneau Electric Vehicle Association to map out a comprehensive electric vehicle charging plan for the city. There is a fine balance between the creation of incentives that encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and the implementation of a permit program or fee structure to recoup some of the costs of investing in EV charging infrastructure and public vehicle charging.
Last fall, the CBJ proposed a permit system for EV owners, in part as reaction of complaints that the city was paying to charge public cars. While we can understand the nature of such complaints, it is important to understand the costs to the city of this incentive. Most EVs that charge publicly are only looking to ‘top up’ or add an hour or two of charge. Two hours of Nissan Leaf charging on a level 2 charger uses roughly $1.80 of electricity. Such an incentive is really no different than CBJ subsidies that support our docks and harbors, public recreation programs, social services and so much more. It is these CBJ-supported aspects of our lives that make Juneau such a wonderful city live and work and play.
Renewable Juneau and others advocate for a comprehensive EV charging program versus a quick annual permit or fee requirement. The program we believe will be most effective looks to balance the need to electrify both public and private means of transportation with measures that address parking, bus electrification, the needs of homeowners, new construction and building codes, placement of future public charging stations. This is a crucial period in the evolution of transportation and we applaud the CBJ’s willingness to pause and take a deeper look at this tenuous balance.
Where are the local charging stations?
There are currently 21 FREE public charging stations in Juneau, stretching from the Eaglecrest Ski Area all the way out to Eagle Beach. These public charging stations were paid for by through a public/private partnership between the CBJ, the Juneau Community Foundation, Juneau HydroPower, the Juneau Electric Vehicle Association and most recently, Fred Meyer and the Alaskan Brewery. To view these charger locations on a local map, visit, PlugShare.com. Plugshare also can show you where chargers are located in just about any city on the globe. In Juneau, find charging stations at:
- Eaglecrest Ski Area
- Treadwell Arena
- Douglas Library
- the Rock Dump
- Marine Parking Garage
- Downtown Transit Center – FAST!
- KTOO
- SLAM parking garage
- AELP
- Kootznoowoo Plaza
- Chatham Electric
- Valley Library
- UAS campus parking lot
- Statter Harbor parking lot
- Eagle Beach State Recreation parking lot
- Fred Meyer – FAST!
- Alaskan Brewery – FAST!
Looking to buy your own level 2 charger? This comprehensive buyer’s guide from InsideEVS may be able to answer some of your questions.
bus fleet electrification
While many cities across the nation have begun to embrace the conversion of their diesel bus fleets to clean, electric, low maintenance buses, Juneau’s pace seems to be lagging in regards to this increasingly popular municipal trend. In 2017, the CBJ was awarded a grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to assist in the procurement of one full-size electric bus, manufactured by Proterra. Scheduled to arrive during the second half of 2019, this fully electric bus will act as a test vehicle, hopefully offering encouraging information on cold weather functionality, travel range on a single charge, power on hill climbs, and more. Just this last year, a second FHA grant was secured that should allow for the financing of at least one additional electric bus, if not two.
There is a great deal of national movement towards public transit fleet electrification. Read more here. For a comparison with China, the world’s leader in EV bus adoption, read about its tremendous progress in striving to eliminate diesel buses within its borders.
Other juneau EV Links
JCOS presentation on the ICE to EV transition.
Juneau Nissan Leaf Facebook Page
Juneau Electric Vehicle Association
Renewable Juneau’s “How to Buy A Used Nissan Leaf” brochure