This planning project was part of the North Carolina Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Initiative, a statewide effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a North Carolina PEV Roadmap and four community PEV plans for metro areas within the state. Community PEV plans were developed for the Asheville region, the Charlotte region, the Piedmont Triad, and the Research Triangle. The planning region for the Asheville Area PEV Plan includes the counties of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania.

Plug-in electric vehicles are empowering organizations and individuals to promote the Asheville region’s future economic resilience, energy security, and environmental health. When compared with conventional gas vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles offer lower fuel prices, reduced dependence on foreign petroleum, and lower emissions of local air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Electric vehicle adoption is also creating new jobs here in Western North Carolina for charging station manufacturers, auto parts suppliers, electrical contractors, and related businesses such as solar PV installers.”

Plug-in electric vehicles, such as the Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt, have been on sale in the Asheville region since the fall of 2011. Based on projections made by the Electric Power Research Institute, there may be over 8,000 plug-in electric vehicles on the road in the Asheville region by 2020. “As battery prices come down and gasoline prices continue to rise we can expect PEVs to become an attractive option for more and more car buyers every year,” says Bill Eaker, who leads the Land-of-Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition.

Over 40 public charging stations have already been installed in the Asheville region to support PEV adoption, including a dozen solar-powered charging stations installed by Brightfield Transportation Solutions, an Asheville-based start-up. Many of these charging stations were also locally manufactured by Eaton Corp. at their Asheville facility. This level of charging station deployment is high for a region of Asheville’s size, but there are still large gaps in this regional network of public charging stations. Targeted locations for additional public charging stations, such as downtown areas in Brevard and Waynesville, are identified in the Plan.

The recommendations of the Asheville Area PEV Plan are directed to a variety of public and private stakeholders in the region. Some key strategies recommended in the plan include:

• Working with public and private fleet managers to identify attractive PEV applications, purchase vehicles, and develop PEV purchase policies
  
• Partnering with local governments and businesses to install public Level 2 charging stations in strategic areas in the Asheville region
  
• Deploying PEV parking and way finding signage to help drivers locate charging stations
  
• Organizing PEV Test Drive events with the help of local auto dealers to educate car buyers about PEVs, their benefits, and available incentives
  
• Supporting policies and partnerships that encourage investments in renewable energy to offset the energy use and emissions of PEVs charged on North Carolina’s electrical grid

Download

You can download the Asheville Area PEV Plan in its entirety or by chapter below.
Alternatively, the plan is also available at Plug-In NC's Resource Page.

Entire Asheville Area PEV Plan

Executive Summary

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - PEV Basics

Chapter 3 - Vehicle Deployment

Chapter 4 - Charging Infrastructure

Chapter 5 - Policies, Codes, and Standards

Chapter 6 - Education and Outreach

Chapter 7 - Electric Utilities

Chapter 8 - Implementation

Appendix

Media Contact

Brian Taylor, Brian@LandOfSky.org, 828-251-6622