OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The City of Oshkosh completed an Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, which they'll present to the council in October. The plan says Winnebago County should have 41-125 EV charging ports by 2050.
- The plan recommends an $80,000 pilot program, installing two charging stations in Oshkosh.
- The plan found 0.2% of Winnebago County drivers are using EVs.
- Oshkosh City Council is expected to vote on the plan next month.
Karl Loewenstein opened Sturgeon Spirits in Oshkosh 2 years ago. When he designed the renovations, he included an EV charging station.
"I'm a huge EV proponent," he says. "I have my own EV battery-first hybrid, I also got an all-electric Chevy Bolt. And so I am really well aware of the need for good charging facilities."
The charging ports at Sturgeon Spirits are free, but Loewenstein says they bring in extra business.
"I would say we have two to three customers a week who come here and plug in, and they join us and have a cocktail or two," he says. "It does drive business for us."
Around the same time, Loewenstein opened Sturgeon Spirits, the City of Oshkosh was also looking into EV infrastructure.
Director of Transportation, Jim Collins, says the city had received a number of requests from residents and businesses for more EV charging stations.
"We've also gotten requests over the years from businesses that wanted to donate EV charging stations to the city," he says. "However, we didn't have a plan. We didn't have enough information on what we needed to do or where we would even put any charging stations."
A year and a half ago, the city hired SRF Consulting to create an EV Readiness Plan, which would identify the current and future needs, as well as a process for funding and construction.
"This plan just basically gives us some guidance and some information to use as we go forward with whatever the EV charging needs of the city may be," Collins says.
On Oct. 10, SRF presented the plan to the transportation committee, and the city council will discuss the presentation at the Oct. 22 council meeting.
The recommendation from the City is for the council to vote on the plan at the Nov. 12 meeting.
The plan calls for 41-125 charging ports to be built in Winnebago County by 2050, with a pilot program completed in Oshkosh in the next few years.
The pilot program would build two charging stations in Oshkosh with two ports each– one in the parking lot across from the Oshkosh Convention Center, and the other at Lakeshore Park near Pinhoqua Street.
The plan estimates the stations would cost $80,000 to install and $1,00 annually to upkeep.
Collins says if the plan is adopted, the City would work with the council to find funding or apply for grants.
While EV infrastructure grants are very competitive, Collins says it will be easier to apply with a completed, comprehensive plan.
"This plan will allow us to be eligible for funding opportunities in the future, apply for grants and things like that, as well as if we receive a donation request, for example, where would we put that and how would that work," he says.
The plan found that 0.2% of registered vehicles in Winnebago County are EVs.
"Although it's a small percentage currently, you know, regionally and nationally it's larger, and it's continuing to grow," Collins says.
The U.S. Department of Energy shows a rise in registered EVs in the state of Wisconsin between 2022 and 2023.
The full plan presentation can be accessed here.
