The Town of Edson is working to bring electric vehicle charging stations to Town.
The Town is one of the partners in EVenture Northwest AB. The project aims to establish a network of 22 Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers across Alberta’s northwest. Other communities involved in the project are Drayton Valley, Whitecourt, Hinton, and Rocky Mountain House.
Under the plan, a third party company will assume the ownership and operation of the charging stations. The station will be installed on Town land at no cost to the Town. All they have to do is donate the land to place the charging stations on.
EVenture has been seeking $3 million for the project, and a new revenue stream had just opened up. Natural Resource Canada (NRCAN) has a program called the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) that will cover 50 per cent of the costs, say officials.
The issue before Edson town council was where to put the charging stations. In order to complete the ZEVIP application, the Town needed to guarantee a location.
Administration determined the best place to put the charging stations would be at the Galloway Station Museum. According to administration, the Galloway Station Museum checks all the boxes, including being a highly visible location, close to downtown amenities, and already has three phase power. Three phase power is said to be the necessary electrical wiring for a charging station.
Councillor Greg Pasychny was concerned about the costs. Administration emphasized that the private partner will be covering all costs of the electricity for the charging stations. They added, the request for proposals for private partners ended on July 13, and the proposals are now under review.
Councillor Krystal Baier was very supportive of the Galloway Station location.
“You continually see people stopping there for lunch, grabbing a picnic or getting fast food and stopping at the park,” said Baier. “I think it is a really nice thing for the community.”
Councillor Trevor Bevan pointed out that this would not just be a selling point for Edson, but for the Yellowhead Highway.
“I attended a Trans-Canada Highway Association meeting, and they were saying there is a big confusion with the Trans-Canada Highway. Everybody figures #1 is the only way to go, the Yellowhead is not,” said Bevan. “When we go back to the meeting, we can bring up that we are putting charging stations in out here and say, ‘You know what? The Yellowhead is really the way.’”
Administration then jumped in to add that there is currently a similar project underway in British Columbia to add more charging stations along BC’s segment of the Yellowhead Highway.
Edson mayor Kevin Zahara shared that Edson already has a number of chargers run by private businesses, and electric vehicle charging is becoming big for the Town.
“As the mayor, I have received correspondence from travellers from the City [of Edmonton], and Jasper and Grande Prairie who are stopping here because this is the central place to get a charge,” said Zahara. “No matter where you sit on the climate change spectrum, the reality is the market is shifting, and this is going to be a bigger and bigger thing as time goes on.”
Council approved the location.
