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Los Alamos unveils fleet-conversion roadmap and community EV charging siting analysis
Summary
Consultants presented a county fleet-conversion plan and community EV charging analysis that models home-charging load, identifies suitable county-owned and shared charging sites, and maps corridor fast-charging priorities; public engagement exceeded 500 survey responses.
Stantec consultants, engaged by Los Alamos County, presented preliminary findings on Oct. 21 for two linked projects: a county fleet conversion plan and a communitywide electric-vehicle (EV) charging plan.
Consultants described a multi-step fleet assessment that inventories vehicles, classifies assets by operational needs, evaluates maintenance facilities and site power capacity, and produces a dynamic Power BI dashboard to track vehicle-by-vehicle replacement timing and charger needs. Project leads said the approach is phased (phase 1–3) and ties vehicle replacement to market availability, operational suitability, and infrastructure readiness.
On EV charging, the consultants described an analysis that combines three inputs — demand (population density and EV travel patterns), suitability (land use, utility infrastructure and flood/federal-land exclusions), and equity (community outreach) — to identify priority locations. Public engagement included a May visioning session and a follow-up online survey with more than 500 responses; respondents expressed both enthusiasm for EVs and concerns about costs and public investment.
The plan models four deployment scenarios: home charging (to assess feeder and grid impacts under three adoption-rate cases), county-owned public charging sites, shared Level-2 charging (prioritizing multifamily and commercial properties), and DC fast charging (prioritizing highway corridors and commercial activity centers). Consultants presented suitability maps that show higher home-charging load on certain electrical feeders and recommended county-owned charging locations at sites that balance demand, feeder capacity and land availability.
Councilors asked how the county would influence private-site (shared Level-2) charging; consultants recommended incentives and policies to encourage privately owned shared chargers where appropriate. The consultants also noted that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its internal charging infrastructure were not part of the county’s analysis because LANL operates its own robust charging and fleet programs.
Public commenters raised costs connected to electrifying new housing subdivisions; a coastal-area developer (Phil Gursky) said subdivision-level electrical infrastructure assumptions can increase per-house costs substantially and urged planners to account for that in affordability analyses.
Staff said the consultants will finalize the plan, incorporate ongoing community feedback, and present a final plan to the county for review and adoption. The analysis will also be used to coordinate grid-capacity upgrades with the county’s utilities.
