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REVISED 11/15/11 OR ~ " p~0 ~ ~ - ~ -[© <br />Abstract Only -See Bold <br />on Pages 1 and 4 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 15, 2011 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5_ ~ <br />SUBJECT: Approval of Conceptual Installation Plan for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, <br />Acceptance of Grant Funds and Approval of Budget Amendment #4-A <br />DEPARTMENT: Asset Management Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />(AMS) and Environment, <br />Agriculture, Parks and <br />Recreation (DEAPR) <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Grant Agreement Pam Jones, AMS, 919-245-2652 <br />David Stancil, DEAPR, 919-245-2522 <br />Michael Talbert, Financial Services, 919- <br />245-2153 <br />PURPOSE: To: <br />1) Approve the conceptual installation plan for up to eight electric vehicle charging stations <br />at various locations; . <br />2) Accept $84,530 in grant funds awarded by the United States Department of Energy <br />and its Carolina Blue Skies & Green Jobs Initiative; and <br />3) Approve Budget Amendment #4-A. <br />BACKGROUND: Orange County was awarded funding by the Carolina Blue Skies and Green <br />Jobs initiative for installation of fueling infrastructure for electric vehicles. The grant was <br />awarded on May 24, 2010 and revised November 2010 and April 2011. <br />The Carolina Blue Skies and Green Jobs Initiative is a project led by Triangle J Council of <br />Governments ("TJCOG"), with $12 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act <br />("ARRA") funding from the United States Department of Energy. The Initiative is providing for <br />major expansion of alternative fuel vehicles and refueling infrastructure through the collaboration <br />of Triangle Clean Cities Coalition, NC Solar Center, Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition, Land-Of- <br />Sky Clean Vehicle Coalition, and Palmetto State Clean Fuels Coalition. <br />At this time, Alternative Fuel Vehicles ("AFV") consist of plug-in electric drive vehicles ("PEVs") <br />such as the Nissan Leaf, plug-in hybrid electric/gasoline drive vehicles ("PHEVs") such as the <br />Chevrolet Volt and the next generation Toyota Prius, and compressed natural gas ("CNG") <br />vehicles. The County has a fleet of 12 non plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Prius and Ford <br />Escape) that have performed very well since introduction. Staff is investigating the potential of <br />installing plug-in conversion kits for these vehicles in addition to procuring additional PHEVs <br />when they become available as part of the County's normal vehicle replacement program. The <br />County's CNG vehicle program, initiated via a grant in 2004, has been discontinued due to <br />unexpectedly high infrastructure maintenance costs. The CNG technology favors larger public <br />transit vehicles and off-road heavy equipment because of their larger size and ability to carry <br />