Four electric vehicle chargers installed at the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot

Four electric vehicle chargers installed at the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot.

In December 2020, the Cochrane Eagle published a pictorial summary of the Town’s “2020: Investments In Our Community”, a summary of key projects being completed in 2020. With respect to the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot (next to the Cochrane Library), I noted that the project, completed in December 2020, included the installation of four electric vehicle (EV) chargers.

I wasn’t aware of any discussion about EV chargers having taken place among our Town’s elected representatives at a Town Council meeting. In an effort to find out who authorized the installation and how this came about, in January 2021, I made a FOIP (freedom of information) request to the Town of Cochrane:
“Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I am requesting copies of all records pertaining to the Town of Cochrane’s decision to install four electric vehicle chargers at the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot, including, in particular, information about the cost for the chargers and how the costs were borne.”

I received a 186-page partially redacted document (which included a lot of engineering plans and product information) in response to my request, from which I was able to piece things together somewhat.

Off the top, I learned from the notes from a November 28, 2019 meeting, EV Charging – ATCO and Cochrane, that “Mayor & CAO want EV charging stations at Transit Hub”. So, we now understand who decided that the Town should install electric vehicle chargers at the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot, namely, Mayor Jeff Genung and then Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the Town, Dave Devana (who resigned as CAO in February 2020). In an earlier email sent by the CAO, Dave Devana, on November 15, 2019, he advised the Town’s Facilities manager, “We need to include EV charging stations in the (Transit Hub & Innovation) project.”

At the November 28, 2019 meeting, one of the identified “potential drivers” for the EV chargers was “to reduce green house gases” (that is, to go along with the globalist United Nation’s agenda). One of the identified potential “concerns” was that it was “difficult to convince people, in Cochrane” that we need charging stations. With respect to the latter, I am not aware of the Town’s planners trying to engage the residents on this matter, who they presumed would not be supportive of such an initiative, and they did not bring it forward for discussion at a Council Meeting.

In the period December 2019-January 2020 the Town planners started discussing the inclusion of EV stations into the design for the CTH (Cochrane Transit Hub) parking lot and how to finance such. In February 2020, a consultant with Urban Systems was asked to do a bit of research on EV stations. Such research indicated that level 2 chargers installed at the CTH site would cost about $7,500 each and yield 18-45 km per hour of charge requiring 4-6 hrs for a full charge. It was understood that he Federal Government is investing $96.4M to support a coast to coast charging network. In an October 1, 2020 email, the Special Projects Manager with the Town of Cochrane, talked about how NRCan’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) could provide an avenue to finance the installation of EV charging stations. He noted that “A key constraint of the grant program is the eligibility requirement for minimum of 20 EV charging stations, which is a higher quantity of EV charging stations than most municipalities are looking to install. However, NRCan allows municipalities to partner together to share resources and meet the minimum number of EV charging stations. For this reason, the Town of Cochrane would be looking to partner with other municipalities on the grant program application to meet this requirement and share the work required for the application process”.

In an October 22, 2020 email, the Town’s Special Projects Manager provided an update on a possible source of funding, advising that “MCCAC (Municipal Climate Change Action Centre), could become a 3rd party distributor for NRCan for EV charging stations grant”.

The conversation continued on trying to find ways to finance the EV chargers. In a November 16, 2020 email the Town’s Special Projects Manager announced, “Great news! I just spoke with MCCAC and they are looking to fund EV charging stations at 100% of the total project cost. Their goal is to help Alberta catch up with the other provinces in EV charging infrastructure (emphasis added). The funding is still to be confirmed, but it will be first-come, first-serve so l’d like to get Cochrane at the top of the list. At this point, they only require a letter of support, which I will draft. For the letter of support, I need to know how many EV chargers we would be interested in installing by 2023.”  In another update on financing, the Town’s Special Projects Manager indicated in a November 18, 2020 email, “Pending 100% project funding and a review of the project, we would be looking to install 10 EV charging stations (level 2). The plan would be to install 4 EV charging stations at the Transit Innovation Hub (adding to the 2 we installed last month), and 6 at SLSFSC (3 on either side of the facility)”.

On November19, 2020 Drew Hyndman, Interim CAO, wrote in a letter to Trina Innes, Executive Director, Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, “This letter is to confirm that the Town of Cochrane, Alberta is in full support of the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s (MCCAC) application for third-party delivery of ZEVIP. MCCAC’s third-party delivery of ZEVIP removes substantial funding and project implementation barriers for our municipality to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in our community. Through MCCAC the Town of Cochrane is looking to install 10 EV charging stations (level 2) in 2021, or as soon as funding is made available. We will install 4 EV charging stations at our Transit and Innovation Hub currently under construction and located in the heart of Downtown Cochrane. ln addition, we will install 6 EV charging stations at our SLS Family Sports Centre, a 325,000sq.ft. municipally owned multiplex facility.”

However, in a November 29, 2020 email the Special Projects Manager advised with respect to financing that “this grant is still being developed by MCCAC and would only be for new EV charging stations. Also, the 50% ZEYIP grant from NRCan would not apply because we need a minimum of 20 charging stations”, namely that the MCCAC grant program was still being developed and only available for new EV charging stations, which was not the case as the four EV charging stations at the Transit and Innovation Hub were already being installed and came into service on December 7, 2020.  Odd that the interim CAO, Drew Hyndman wrote in a letter to Trina Innes, Executive Director, Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, that the Town of Cochrane was “looking to install 10 EV charging stations…as soon as funding is made available”, and yet those charging stations had by that time been installed at the Transit and Innovation Hub parking lot. Seems that they were so excited to have EV chargers to be installed in Cochrane that they couldn’t wait for grant funding to become available.

With respect to expected revenue and usage, according to a communication received from the Town’s Sustainability & Transit Coordinator in May 2021, “The Town collects $2.00 per hour while connected to the electric vehicle (EV) charger (average fee for Calgary area). The Town’s operating cost for a charger is $0.86/hour (updated cost), which results in a revenue of $1.14/hour of charging. The expected usage is challenging to predict. However, post COVID-19 with increased tourism and the completion of the Innovation/Transit Hub and the pedestrian rail crossing (connecting the Historic Downtown and the Quarry) we anticipate 4 hours per day of charging at each EV station (4 hours per day = 1 full EV charge every second day). Based on the 4 hours per day the net revenue would be $1,664.40 per year per charger ($1.14/hr x 4 hrs x 365 days)”. The Town deciding to set up an outlet on Town land to sell electricity to a small segment of our population who happen to own subsidized electric vehicles strikes me as no different than had the Town set up a service station on Town land to sell gasoline to owners of gasoline-fueled vehicles. The price they charged for electricity was rather arbitrary and could well have been $0, that is, free to users. Note that taxes (some of which is explained as necessary to support and maintain the roads and highways), which are substantial in the sale of petrol, are absent from the electricity cost.

The Town’s Sustainability & Transit Coordinator also advised that, “The supply and install of the 4 Flo EV charging stations at the Innovation/Transit Hub parking lot cost $29,600 ($7,400 per charger)” and that with respect to financing, “These EV charging stations will likely not be eligible for the future Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s (MCCAC) EV charging station grant because the costs were incurred before the grant was established”.

Finally, he indicated, “At this time the 4 Flo EV charging stations at the Innovation/Transit Hub parking lot are the only EV stations that have been installed by the Town. As mentioned above, these chargers will likely not be eligible for the MCCAC EV charging station grant because the costs were incurred before the grant was established.

The Town has not committed to any additional EV charging stations at this time. However, pending MCCAC’s grant funding for 100% of the supply and install cost, we would be exploring the installation of up to 10 more EV charging stations:

    • 6 to 8 EV stations at SLS Family Sports Centre
    • 1 to 2 EV stations at Ranchehouse
    • 1 to 2 EV stations at other Town facilities TBD”

While the Town planners had earlier talked about 10 EV charging stations, the four at the Transit & Innovation Hub parking lot and 6 at the SLS Family Sports Centre, they now were more ambitious in their plans to essentially populate the town with EV charging stations, “pending the MCCAC’s grant funding for 100% of the supply and install cost”.

Received an update from the Town’s Sustainability & Transit Coordinator in early November 2021. He confirmed that, “The four existing EV charging stations at the Innovation/Transit Hub parking lot will not be eligible for this grant opportunity, because they were installed prior to the grant being announced”, which is expected to be announced before year end. The funding, instead, came from the capital budget for the Innovation/Transit Hub parking lot.

With respect to future charging stations being installed in the Town, he advised, “we will first need to review the grant opportunity once it is officially announced with all the details. Once the grant is reviewed and if it is deemed an opportunity the Town would like to pursue, then further work exploring EV charging stations and an application to MCCAC would be made. An Expression of Interest (EOI) has been submitted to MCCAC to gain more information and put the Town in the queue for this grant opportunity”.

The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) referenced as a source of grant funding was founded in 2009 as a collaborative initiative of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and the Government of Alberta. The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, functions to “provide funding, technical assistance, and education to municipalities, schools, and community organizations, helping them lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions (emphasis added), and improve climate resilience” (whatever “climate resilience” means), that is, it is an organization committed to furthering the goals of the globalist United Nations as per Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Accord.

The MCCAC is closely linked to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA). Its office is located at that the same address as that for the AUMA in Edmonton. At its website the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) describes the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) as one of its “joint programs”. On the AUMA’s Board of Directors are mayors and councillors drawn from various villages, towns, and cities across Alberta.

As far as a tie-in to the Alberta government, a Senior Policy Adviser with Alberta Environment & Parks and a Director, Corporate Strategic Policy with Alberta Municipal Affairs are Members of the MCCAC’s Program Advisory Committee. As well, the Deputy Minister with Alberta Environment & Parks and the Deputy Minister with Alberta Municipal Affairs are part of MCCAC’s Executive Committee.

The MCCAC strives to influence municipalities, entice municipalities, like the Town of Cochrane, to “take action on climate change” through its various Funding Programs: Alberta Municipal Solar Program, Clean Energy Improvement Program, Electric Vehicle Charging Program, Electric Vehicles for Municipalities Program, Municipal Energy Manager Program, Recreation Energy Conservation Program and Solar for Schools. Clearly, the cash that ‘Daddy Greenbacks’ dangles out to the municipalities makes it happen. With respect to the Electric Vehicle Charging Program, which is expected to be announced before year end, its objective is to “accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles” in the various municipalities, “develop Alberta’s electric vehicle charging network throughout rural and urban areas” and “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging electric vehicle adoption in Alberta”, the latter clearly revealing its commitment to furthering the goals of Justin Trudeau and the globalist United Nations as per Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Accord.

According to its journey since its founding in 2009, in 2018 the MCCAC received $54 million “to create and launch solar, energy efficiency and energy management funding programs – empowering change”. Presumably it received such funding from its partners, namely, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and the Government of Alberta. Given the partnership with the Alberta Government, it is clear that the Alberta Government is very much involved in pushing this agenda along. The MCCAC was founded in 2009 as a partnership with the Alberta government at a time when there was a Progressive Conservative government with Ed Stelmach as Premier. In 2018 when it received the big bag of cash to dish out, presumably a large portion of which was from the Alberta government, we had an NDP government in power with Rachel Notley as Premier. Today that partnership with the Alberta government still exists with a United Conservative Party (UCP) government and Jason Kenney as Premier. So regardless of the provincial party, NDP or UCP, there is strong support for an entity which has the objective to “provide funding, technical assistance, and education to municipalities, schools, and community organizations, helping them lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions”. No surprize that such support comes from Premier Jason Kenney, who in February 2020 declared, “Let me be clear, the Government of Alberta accepts, without reservation, the urgency of combatting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

It’s a matter of the offer of money to grease the wheels. Trying to get some handout, which is the leverage that an entity like MCCAC uses to coerce municipalities to do things, such that they lose their autonomy.

Something that the virtue-signalling owners of the subsidized electric vehicles probably never considered.

 

 

 


Update, January 29, 2024