The Garfield Clean Energy board in July adopted a countywide EV-readiness and action plan, providing a blueprint for managing the county's long-term transition to electric transportation.
The Garfield County Region EV Readiness and Action Plan recommends strategies for addressing the challenges and opportunities anticipated from an electric-vehicle future. The recommendations fall into four focus areas: codes and policy support, EV charging infrastructure, equitable EV access, and fleets and transit.
The plan is an outgrowth of GCE's 2023 Energy Action Plan, which sets a goal of 15% of registered vehicles in Garfield County to be EVs by 2030, in line with state targets.
While the adoption of electric vehicles will go a long way toward reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, it won’t solve every problem, noted Mary Harlan, clean mobility team lead for CLEER, one of the organizations behind the planning process.
“The plan recognizes that not all of our residents are going to be able to or want to switch to EVs, and that utilizing our public transit systems, biking, walking and driving conventional vehicles are all part of a holistic countywide transportation system,” she said.
The EV-readiness plan is the culmination of a year-long process led by CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region, the nonprofit that manages GCE’s programs), Xcel Energy Partners in Energy and Holy Cross Energy. The process gathered input from numerous stakeholders from around the region and the state through in-person workshops and virtual meetings.
To implement the plan’s recommendations, collaborators will identify top priorities and apply for grants to initiate projects. Workforce development programs for EV mechanics and charger maintenance, EV charging station installation, and outreach and education materials are a few of projects on the near-term horizon.