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by chx 1528 days ago
Most old high rises in the West End do not have the spare wattage to install even one charger in the underground parkade much less several. Getting some from BC Hydro is expensive and they really, really don't want to because they don't have much to spare either. It'll be likely 2030 before we get more. https://www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/west-end-subst...

Also, the demand grows as climate change hits Vancouver hard -- check out the heat dome last summer. Spending money on an AC was laughable luxury before but now?

1 comments

If the bottleneck is energy supply, how are the gas stations expected to source their energy?
There are no gas stations left in the West End and only one on the entire downtown peninsula which has been on sale already several times. I was answering about home charging for a non-trivial amount of the population.

The rest of the city is supplied well, it's just the peninsula which doesn't have enough. It is also one of the densest places in Canada.

So what is the plan for EVs there if the infrastructure can't handle it?
That's why you need to have it in gas stations because for in the short term future I can't see downtown having an abundance of chargers.

As I noted, the other substations which are not on the peninsula are fine.

Look: https://www.google.com/maps/search/bc+hydro+substations+in+v... the Dal Grauer Substation is so old it is a heritage building!

But you just said there are no gas stations left on the peninsula. How are gas stations with a few chargers in other areas going to help when it takes hours to charge?