A look into residents using self-generated solar power and electric vehicle charging stations in Longmont shows the small-scale economic benefits that will accompany the transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 pledged by City Council last week.

While the additions of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city are not part of developing a grid of purely renewable energy — mostly fossil fuels still power the stations — the takeover of green transportation may coincide with the rise of clean power if the attitudes of a handful of Longmont residents and business owners are any indicator.

As more motorists in Boulder County have opted for partially or fully electric cars, businesses have welcomed the additions of charging stations to their own or nearby parking lots since drivers may be inclined to get out and shop while their batteries juice.

Cost of charging

Longmont owns four charging stations, and electric vehicle owners can pay to use to them.

The city's level two chargers, which take several hours to charge most car batteries, can be used for $1 per hour and are located at the Longmont Service Center, 1100 South Sherman St.; the Development Services Center in the parking lot between Third and Fourth avenues; and the St. Vrain Memorial Building at 700 Longs Peak Ave.

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The city's level three "fast" charger at the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, charges most electric cars batteries to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, according to the city's website, and costs $3 per charging session.

Some businesses, such as Valley Nissan, 1005 Ken Pratt Blvd., have charging stations open to public use for free.

Warren Smith, general manager of Valley Nissan, said between 10 and 20 electric car drivers come to the dealership daily to juice up at his single level one fast charger and, less frequently, his level two chargers that are slower.

The idea to start assessing a fee to users who use the dealership's charging stations was brought up in a conversation among Valley Nissan employees earlier this month, Smith said.

However, paying to recharge a battery turns some electric or hybrid drivers away from a certain station, including John Raube, a 25-year-old Longmont man who drives his hybrid Toyota Prius for Uber.

Because his car can run on gas when its battery isn't charged, he opts to fuel up at the pump unless it's free to plug in.

"(Electric charging) is really only topping on the cake for me when it's convenient because I can use gas if I have to," said Raube, while noting he hopes to buy a fully electric car in the near future. "If I had a Nissan Leaf or a Tesla, I would pay for electricity, without question. Two dollars per hour to charge is better than $30 for a tank of gas."

Raube uses the smartphone app ChargePoint, which maps the locations of electric vehicle charging stations throughout Longmont and the nation, tells users whether or not the stations cost money to use and if they are being used in real time.

The app showed more than a dozen available charging stations throughout the city.

Amount of use

Data from Longmont Power and Communications shows the city's level one "fast" charger is used far more often than the level two chargers.

The same is true at Valley Nissan, where sometimes drivers will even line up to use the fast charger instead of hooking into one of the level two chargers at the dealership, said Smith.

In 2016, the level three charger at the Longmont Museum had 167 unique users, with 353 different times someone plugged in, for an average of fewer than one per day, said Longmont Power and Communications spokesman Scott Rochat.

The most popular city-owned level two charger was at the Development Services Center, where 105 unique users plugged in a total of 184 times, while 45 unique users plugged in 58 times at the St. Vrain Memorial Building and 19 different people plugged in 49 times at the Longmont Service Center.

About 175 gallons of gas were saved by the 5,800 kilowatt-hours of energy pumped into cars by the charging stations in total in 2016.

Data for 2017 is expected to become available later this month, and is expected to mirror the 2016 data, Rochat said.

Benefitting business

The greater amount of time it takes to charge an electric vehicle enough to get anywhere compared to the short bit it takes to fill up the gas tank of a traditional automobile is what attracts businesses to the idea of having proximity to charging stations.

Drivers for ride-sharing services such as Raube, who said he sometimes puts 1,000 miles per week on his Prius while working for Uber, may receive preference for premium parking spaces as the city continues increasing accessibility to public electric vehicle charging.

While some businesses, such as PCD Engineering at 323 Third Ave., have installed charging stations in their parking lots to promote green transportation, some stores near chargers, such as those surrounding Valley Nissan, sometimes gain a walk-in or regular customer who charges daily.

"One guy comes three times a day," Smith said. "People start their day here. Some people eat lunch in their car while they charge, or venture across the street to Starbucks, Safeway or Chipotle."

Raube said he frequently hits Whole Foods while he charges for free at the Village at the Peaks.

Peter D'Antonio, president of PCD Engineering, has charged users of his level two stations $1 per charge since installing the stations in August.

"I think for us, it was really just we felt like it aligned with our values as a company, and not necessarily using it to drive business," D'Antonio said.

Longmont Downtown Development Authority Director Kimberlee McKee said charging station vehicles may go into parking spots in prime locations as more are added downtown to incentivize the driving of electric vehicles.

"If demand becomes high enough, the situation could become similar to what we've seen with our NextLight internet service, where someone managing an apartment complex decides they have to have NextLight in order to make their property attractive to renters," Rochat said. "As more renters acquire electric vehicles, apartment locations that have charging stations will be an attractive aspect to consider in choosing where to rent."

City planners still need to find a balance and not designate too many parking spots to electric vehicles, McKee said.

100 percent renewable

While consumer behavior and attitudes toward electric cars will dictate the speed of the transition to green transportation, Longmont's wholesale power provider, Platte River Power Authority, is in charge of the city's fate when it comes to a fully clean energy grid.

PRPA's website said it has also committed to hitting a zero-net carbon emissions goal by 2030. The power provider plans to reduce 1,803 megawatt-hours, which is the average carbon emission rate for the regional power market based on data published by eGrid Rockies, according to PRPA's website.

Residents who wish to subscribe to exclusively clean energy can do so on Longmont's website for an extra 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Solar power generated by residents' own solar panels accounted for fewer than a tenth of a percent on the city's grid.

About 31 percent of the city's electricity currently comes from non-carbon sources, and PRPA plans to buy another 150 megawatts of wind capacity in the near future, Rochat said.

Sam Lounsberry: 303-473-1322, slounsberry@prairiemountainmedia.com and twitter.com/samlounz.