Agassiz is getting two new electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations, and Chilliwack is getting one, expanding a network the BC provincial government touts as one of the largest in Canada.
Agassiz’s additions will be located at the Seabird Island Gas Bar (3971 Lougheed Hwy). Two stations will be operated by BC Hydro and are projected to be open in fall 2021.
Also operated by BC Hydro, Chilliwack’s is already active, joining a bank of existing stations at the Fraser Valley Regional District building at 45950 Cheam Avenue.
“More and more British Columbians are switching to electric vehicles to save on fuel costs and reduce air pollution,” said Bruce Ralston, BC’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
The new fast chargers are the result of a partnership between Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation and BC Hydro.
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They allow EV drivers to get approximately 250 kilometres worth of charge per hour.
According to a provincial government news release, at the end of last year there were more than 2,500 public charging stations in B.C., including more than 480 fast-charging stations.
“These fast-charging stations across the Fraser Valley will mean that people will be able to get from Chilliwack to work and back in Vancouver without having to charge or make it safely on a road trip from Abbotsford to Princeton without having to stop with just one hour of charge,” said Pam Alexis, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission. “It’s great to see our government investing in incentives for people to make the switch to electric vehicles and I look forward to seeing more and more out on the road in the years to come.”
The province had more than 54,000 zero-emission vehicles registered as of Dec. 2020. The federal government recently set a mandatory target of 100 per cent zero-emission light-duty vehicle sales by 2035. The provincial Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, passed on May 30, 2019, requires all new light-duty cars and trucks sold in B.C. to be zero-emission by 2040.
