Sixteen new fast chargers joined the 46 chargers currently providing plug-in power for electric vehicles in the City of Santa Barbara. The new installations, the speediest on the market, are in the city’s Ortega Parking Garage, which is adjacent to the Saturday Farmers’ Market, Dune Coffee, and other downtown shops and restaurants near Ortega and Anacapa streets.
The second floor of the multi-level parking structure hosts four ChargePoint fast chargers, and the third floor holds 12 Tesla Superchargers. These can power up the battery in an electric vehicle (EV) within 15 minutes — 10 to 30 times faster than Level-2 chargers. However, for drivers preferring to slowly charge their battery, the Ortega structure added three Level-2 chargers – an addition that allows all types of connectors, or plugs, to be available at the Ortega garage.
Altogether, city users charged roughly 300 cars with 14.1 megawatt-hours this past month, he added, which kept about 2.5 metric tons of greenhouse gases out of the skies. The city has invested in power-up stations for electric vehicles for the past 10 years, finding that the three Level-2 chargers at the Helena Avenue lot are the most popular, said Kristian Hoffland, energy analyst for the city’s Sustainability and Resilience wing of Public Works. The two at the Harbor are nearly as frequently used, as are the three in Lot 11 on Anacapa between Cota and Haley streets.
“Lower downtown looks to be in need of some more chargers, so we have plans to expand in that area,” said Hoffland, whose group has secured $3.5 million in additional grant funding. The new chargers at Ortega received funding from a $160,000 grant from the California Energy Commission, and additional resources from Tesla and the Carbon Solutions Group EV.
The city decided on Tesla fast chargers when the company offered to install them and provide electrical service at no cost; this enabled the city to add the ChargePoint units. Santa Barbara has used ChargePoint for 10 years or more, and the company has the biggest network in California, said Hoffland: “The good thing is that there are adapters coming out so most EVs will be able to use the fastest chargers in the near future, despite the car or charger connector type.”
As for the cost, the public EV stations are kept at a negotiated low rate, Hoffland explained, which is somewhat like charging at home during off-peak hours. However, “Tesla sets their own rate for their chargers, and we don’t have input on that,” he said.
To find other city EV chargers, visit the “Electric Vehicle Charging” page at the city’s website. Many newer EVs have finder apps built into their onboard navigation systems, and websites like PlugShare locate public and other charging stations nationwide, Hoffland suggested.
To get more residents into carbon-free vehicles, the city has a rebate program through its electricity provider: Santa Barbara Clean Energy. Rebates of $1,000 and $2,000 are available for new and used vehicles, and even for new electric motorcycles. Visit sbcleanenergy.com/electrify-sb for full information.
