Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Electric Vehicles topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Los Alamos County unveils fleet-conversion and community EV‑charging study
Summary
County sustainability staff and consultant Stantec outlined a county fleet electrification plan, a communitywide electric‑vehicle charging strategy and a public engagement schedule; presenters said the study will model vehicle needs, charging demand scenarios and funding options and will coordinate with schools and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Los Alamos County sustainability staff and Stantec consultants presented a county fleet conversion plan and a separate communitywide electric‑vehicle (EV) charging plan during a Board of Public Utilities work session. The study aims to assess whether EVs can meet current operational needs for county vehicles, estimate charging demand across town and White Rock, and identify funding and implementation options.
Angelica Guralay, the county sustainability manager, said the project has three components: a fleet conversion plan focused on county vehicles, a community EV charging plan focused on public charging needs, and an engagement strategy. "Our main purpose to conduct this study is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the county's fleet and to assess expanding EV charging infrastructure for the county and for the community," she said.
Stantec will inventory county vehicle types and duty cycles, identify EV equivalents where feasible, and note where technology gaps mean gasoline or diesel vehicles must remain in service for now (for example, for some heavy emergency‑response uses). The consultant will also identify energy requirements for chargers at county facilities and will present a base case (business as usual) and a zero‑emissions case that models a staged transition of the fleet and its emissions impacts.
On the community side, the study will produce a contextual scan of state and federal policy — including the New Mexico clean car rule that establishes ZEV sales targets beginning in 2026 — a technical siting analysis and an implementation plan that includes equity considerations and likely heat‑map visualizations showing prioritized locations for chargers.
Guralay said the team will present conservative and aggressive adoption scenarios and estimate the number of EVs and the number of chargers needed under each scenario. She said Stantec will also model charger siting with sensitivity to utility infrastructure and travel patterns and that the firm will propose funding options to implement infrastructure.
Board members urged the study team to coordinate with other local partners. "I think including a presentation to the school board would also be good," said Member Matt Heffner, who suggested school bus electrification as a potential "low‑hanging fruit" for community electrification. Board members also asked staff to coordinate with Los Alamos National Laboratory on commuter and employee charging plans because laboratory charging could change local demand patterns.
Board members and Stantec staff discussed practical limits: several speakers noted that certain vehicles — hospital backup generators and some emergency vehicles — will remain diesel or be exempt from electrification in the near term. Stantec said it plans to meet with department heads, including police and fire chiefs, to identify exempt vehicles and avoid unnecessary analysis.
Other questions from board members addressed codes and future technology: a board member asked whether the consultant would recommend changes to building and parking codes to support EV charging; Guralay said code changes were not part of the current scope but said Stantec would provide adoption schedules and other policy recommendations. Board members asked the consultant to consider future charging technology such as high‑power and bidirectional (vehicle‑to‑grid) charging when possible.
The study kicked off in February and, Guralay said, is in the data‑gathering phase. Stantec will host a public visioning session and a public survey and will share draft and final plans with the Board of Public Utilities for review. Guralay said staff will coordinate fleet and facilities condition assessments and return with deliverables and a timeline.
The presentation drew technical questions about lifecycle carbon payback, vehicle replacement timing and the need for longer‑term planning: one speaker asked whether the county's average fleet life would be long enough that EVs would deliver net carbon benefits after the higher manufacturing footprint of EVs' batteries. Stantec and county staff said they will include lifecycle and financial analyses in the study.
The county invited public participation in the visioning sessions and said the study will present specific implementation steps and funding options when its draft is published.
