The transition to zero-emission vehicles is slower in northern and rural areas but it doesn't have to stay that way. In North-Central BC, a recent milestone related to electrification proves that collaboration between communities works and is critical to recognizing the needs of drivers in a region where transportation often accounts for nearly two-thirds of local greenhouse gas emissions.
One Million Kilometres through "Charge North"
A network of electric vehicle charging stations throughout central and northern BC has now provided enough power to enable one million kilometres of emission-free travel. Charge North has involved dozens of local governments, Indigenous communities, and tourism organizations, which worked with CEA to add close to 60 electric vehicle charging ports around central and northern BC from 2022-24, often in communities that previously had no public EV charging. Some facts about Charge North and the 1,000,000 km milestone:
- The first Charge North station was installed in the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (Fort Nelson), in Sept. 2022.
- The Charge North stations connect about 2800 km of highways from Logan Lake to Fort Nelson and Haida Gwaii to the Robson Valley. The stations are "Level 2" and add about 40 km of range per hour of charging.
- The Prince George Public Library is home to the most popular Charge North station, which has been used more than 2,600 times. Cumulatively, Charge North stations have hosted nearly 16,000 charging sessions.
- 1,000,000 km is equivalent to driving across Canada more than 120 times.
- Charge North was funded by the participating local governments, Northern Development Initiative Trust, the Province of BC, Government of Canada, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The news comes in a month when Prince George hosted major conferences on BC's natural resource industries and the regional production and distribution of low-carbon fuels. CEA's Megan Lohmann moderated a panel on transportation during the Future Fuels Forum.
The "Electric Highway" and More Fast-Charging
Since the summer of 2024, BC Hydro has tripled the number of fast-chargers in the Northern Interior and North Coast regions, growing from 30 to 93 chargers in only six months. These installations have been part of BC's Electric Highway, a network of public EV fast-charging stations located approximately 150 kilometres apart along BC highways and major roadways.
EV Adoption on the Rise
Although Northern BC has been slower than other parts of BC to adopt electric vehicles, the number of EVs in the North continues to rise.
According to vehicle data from ICBC, approximately 0.4% of passenger vehicles in Northern BC were electric in 2023. Though still small, the number increased 30% from the year before, still slightly below the year-over-year growth rate for electric vehicles in BC as a whole. Overall in BC, at the end of 2023, nearly 117,000 electric passenger vehicles were on the road, representing about 4.3% of all passenger vehicles in the province.
The above article originated on the Community Energy Association website. For more information, please visit https://www.communityenergy.ca/northern-bc-electric-vehicle-milestones/
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