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Final Management

Report

April 14, 2014

Submitted by

310 W. Kaʻahumanu Avenue Kahului, HI 96732-1617

 

 

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DOE Award Number: DE-EE0005553  Name of recipient: University of Hawaii  Project title: Multi-Year Plan to Integrate High EV Penetration with Renewable Energy on an Island

Grid System, also known as “Maui Electric Vehicle Alliance”  Principal Investigator: Clyde Sakamoto  Project Director: Anne Ku  Date of report: April 14, 2014  Period covered by report: October 1, 2011 to January 31, 2014  

 Disclaimer  This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.    Acknowledgement  This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-EE0005553   Consortium Members  Lead: University of Hawaii Maui College  Subawardees and grant partners:  

● Hawaii State Energy Office / Department of Business, Economic Development, Tourism (DBEDT) ● Honolulu Clean Cities (HCC) ● University of California San Diego (UCSD)

 Cost-share partners (in decreasing order of commitment value):  

● University of California at San Diego (UCSD) ● Hawaiian Electric Vehicle Network (HEVN) ● Hawaii State Energy Office / Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism ● Maui County Office of Economic Development ● University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC) ● Jim Falk Automotive Group ● Grand Wailea Resort and Spa ● Honua Kai Resort and Spa ● Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association (HADA) ● Chevron Energy Solutions ● Enterprise Rent A Car (EAN Holdings) ● Rising Sun Solar and Electric ● HNU Energy ● Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO)

 

 

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Table of Contents    

1. Executive Summary ………...………..………..………..………..……..…………............................... 4  

2. Maui EVA - organization of stakeholders and working groups …..…………….............................. 6  

3. Subawardees and grant partners ………..………..………..………..……..………............................ 7  

4. Cost-share status ………..………..………..………..………..………..……..…….............................. 8  

5. Budget vs actual expenditure ……..………..………..………..………..………..……..…….............. 9  

6. Comparison of actual accomplishments with the goals and objectives of the project …..………..………..………..………..………..………..………..……………....................................... 10  

7. Products developed under award ………..………..………..………..……..…..…............................ 12  

8. Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) ………..………..………..………..……............................ 14  

Task 1 – Management Activities and Project Coordination …..…....….…..…..…............... 14  

Task 2 – Project Assessment ….…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…...…....…..…................... 15  

Task 3 - Workforce Training ……..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..………..…..…..…................... 16  

Task 4 – Policy and Planning …..…..…..…..…..…....…..…..…..…..…..…..……................ 17  

Task 5 – Information Gathering and Research …....…..…..………..……………................. 18  

Task 6 - Consumer Behavior Study Planning …..…..…..…..……………………................. 18  

Task 7 –Develop PEV Infrastructure Plan …..…..…..…..…..….....…....…..……................ 19  

Task 8 – Outreach …..…..…..…..…..…....…..…..…..…..…......…..…..…..…….................. 19  

9. Major Milestones ………..………..………..………..………..………..……..……............................. 20  

10. Any changes in approach or aims and reasons for changes ………..……..….............................. 23

11. Conclusions and Next Steps ………………………………………………………............................. 25  

 

 

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 1. Executive Summary    In the original proposal, “Multi-Year Plan to Integrate High EV Penetration with Renewable Energy on an Island Grid System,” University of Hawaii Maui College and partners, Hawaii State Energy Office and Honolulu Clean Cities, asserted that Maui County had the potential to become “a microcosm embodiment of the global goal of electrifying the transportation sector,” that the county would achieve the nation’s “highest per capita EV penetration,” and through the proposal’s objectives, begin mitigating the region’s reliance on petroleum. According to World EV Cities, a project of UC Davis, Maui County is among the leaders in EVs per capita (see figure 1). As Maui County continues to top EV per capita in the State of Hawaii, we believe the planning and activities undertaken through this DOE-funded project played a significant role in supporting a transition to renewable energy that also places Maui County as the lead installer of solar energy. Perhaps the most significant achievement of this project was forming the Maui Electric Vehicle Alliance (Maui EVA) and developing a statewide collaboration to engage and educate EV stakeholders on Maui and neighbor islands. With its grant partners, Maui EVA accelerated Hawaii's ability to engage, inform, train, and plan for expanded EV deployment. Prior to the grant, Hawaii's EV market accomplishments, barriers, and lessons learned were undocumented, and key stakeholders were not collaborating on plans for EV infrastructure deployment, despite signs that vehicle manufacturers were market ready.    During the grant period, Maui EVA served as an approachable entity for regional stakeholders and the broader community to engage regarding EVs. It sponsored and participated in community and stakeholder outreach initiatives to improve EV understanding and acceptance, create public policy, build confidence in new technologies, and cultivate change in driver attitudes and behaviors.    Through free conferences, seminars, and other EV-related events, Maui EVA created a central repository of best practices, updates on charging stations, and became the point of contact for EV advice and information. Organized meetings helped to break the so-called “chicken or egg” dilemma by getting EV and EVSE suppliers and proponents together to resolve issues and agree on next steps, and it assisted residential and commercial EV buyers in navigating the maze of policies and installation challenges related to EV ownership. With this support, Maui County moved ahead of other islands in Hawaii, both in terms of EV

 

 

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penetration and infrastructure implementation. It now has not only the highest EV-ownership per capita but also the fastest rate of EV growth in the state. Maui also benefitted from a convergence of the planning instigated by Maui EVA and the JUMPsmart Maui Project,1 which installed quad-port DC fast chargers at five locations on Maui (with plans for fifteen more), as part of a joint Japan-U.S. study on renewable energy technologies, including EV charging stations and vehicles.    With the grant concluded, no single entity has stepped up to fill the role of information aggregating and outreach that Maui EVA performed. A volunteer group of EV owners, many employed by UHMC, formed and will continue providing support and advocacy informally. JUMPsmart Maui will provide support around its infrastructure and study, and the Hawaii State Energy Office and Honolulu Clean Cities will continue to offer their website information and reports. As implementation unfolds, there will continue to be a need to support the momentum of EV and EVSE deployment. Assets created by this project include an extensive stakeholder and participant contact list, preliminary data and analyses from EV awareness surveys, minutes of meetings, photographs, links to videos, fact sheets, first-hand testimonies, monthly newsletters, unpublished and published reports. The contact list is shared with grant partners. Intranet access to minutes of meetings is given to working group members. Everything else can be found or linked from project website at http://www.mauieva.org Figure 1. EVs per 10,000 residents

Source: World EV Cities, UC Davis, First Quarter 2014                                                                                                                1 JUMPsmart Maui is the name given to the Japan-US Island smart grid project funded by Japan’s NEDO, which selected Hitachi, Mizuho Bank, and Cyber Defense Institute to develop the demonstration program along with other partners listed at their official website http://www.jumpsmartmaui.com/

 

 

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2. Maui EVA - organization of stakeholders and working groups    Grant recipients (awardee and three sub-awardees), cost-share partners, organizations who submitted letters of support for the project, and other interested members in the community met at the opening Kick-Off on November 1, 2011. Participants were then organized into five working groups led by two co-chairs each to carry out the requirements of the grant. Below is an illustration of the organization of stakeholders in Maui EVA.  Figure 2. Organization chart of Maui EVA  

 

 

 

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                          3. Subawardees and grant partners    All funds were expended in the final year of the grant. The project director asked the three subawardees to return unspent funds so that we could repurpose them to meet additional grant outcomes during the No Cost Extension Period (July 1, 2013 - January 31, 2014). The three subawardees reduced their share of the grant from the initial budgeted $133K to $55.8K. The table below illustrates the budget allocation and final actual payments.      Table 1. Subawardee Management: end dates, budgets, actual payments  

Subwards & end dates of commitment  Initial Budget

@ Oct 2011  Revised Budget NCE @May 2013  

Final Payments

DBEDT - May 2013   $78,000   $16,000   $6,392  

HCC - Dec 2012   $25,000   $40,832   $23,895  

UCSD - May 2013   $30,000   $30,000   $25,514  

Total Direct Costs from Subawards   $133,000   $86,832   $55,801  

Indirect Costs (IDC) due to Subawards   $18,750   $16,500   $12,903  

Total Indirect Costs   $48,339   $58,939   $59,100  

 

 

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4. Cost-share status    Total cost-share obligations of $169K from the fourteen cost-share partners were met and exceeded. In the No Cost Extension Period (July 1, 2013 - January 31, 2014), three of the cost-share partners fulfilled and/or exceeded their obligations through in-kind contributions of car rental, hotel accommodation, and provision of meeting rooms to allow three additional conferences to take place without impacting actual dollars from the grant itself.  Table 2. Conferences during No Cost Extension Period

Dates Event Name Location Description

September 9 - 11, 2013 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit

Honolulu two EV discussion panels & dissemination of new report

November 15, 2013 Maui EVA Finale UH Maui College Acknowledgement of stakeholders, final reports, event coverage on Akaku TV and on Maui EVA TV youtube channel

November 15-17, 2013 Maui & Neighbor Islands EV Industry Strategy Conference

Honua Kai Resort & Spa, Maui

Sponsored event. 45 participants

December 13-15, 2013 Maui EVA Implementation Conference

Grand Wailea Resort & Spa

Next steps

 

 

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5. Budget vs Actual Expenditure    The following table shows the actual expenditure in each budget category at end of project versus the revised budget made at time of request for No Cost Extension in May 2013.    Table 3. Award (grant) Management: initial budget, revised budget, actual expenditure  

Budget Category

Original / Initial

Budget @ Oct 2011

Revised Budget @ May 2013 for

No Cost Extension

Actual Final Expenditure

(close of project)

Difference (revised budget

- final actual)

a. Personnel $45,094 $120,684 $123,705 -$3,021

b. Fringe Benefits $18,060 $24,558 $27,568 -$3,010

c. Travel $20,300 $18,276 $16,510 $1,765

d. Equipment $0 $0 $0 $0

e. Supplies $500 $7,604 $7,251 $353

f. Contractual $133,000 $67,445 $60,801 $6,644

g. Construction $0 $0 $0 $0

h. Other $34,400 $2,188 $4,757 -$2,569

i. Total Direct Charges (sum of 6a-6h)

$251,354 $240,754 $240,593 $162

j. Indirect Charges $48,339 $58,939 $59,100 -$162

k. Totals (sum of 6i-6j) $299,693 $299,693 $299,693 $0

 

 

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             6. Comparison of actual accomplishments with the goals and objectives of the

project    All goals were met.    Maui’s project goals and objectives as stated on page 4 of the project proposal were addressed in the implementation plan submitted to the Department of Energy. The objectives and tasks are addressed in the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) section of this report.    The EV-readiness grant contributed in the following ways to our EV progress to-date.    The organization of representative stakeholders (MAUIEVA) and regular meetings allowed stakeholders to meet and discuss issues from their respective points of view. An ongoing conversation was necessary, to keep the topic of EVs on the radar screen. At the same time, we built a local group of "experts" actively engaged in EV and EVSE. Compare this to other counties and islands in Hawaii where such an organization did not and still does not exist, they were not able to advance or break the "chicken or the egg" deadlock. This is seen in the steady pace of EV registration on Maui.    Maui EVA received a considerable amount of publicity locally, state-wide, and nationally (in our third month, we were named the most innovative EV project by Green Tech Media, Dec 2011). This publicity not only gave validation to and built confidence in our initiative but also attracted EV and EVSE expertise to the island.    We invited the partners of JUMPsmart Maui Project (initially and formerly known as "Japan US Island smart grid demonstration project”) to our first meeting - the Kick Off at the Grand Wailea on 1st November 2011. They learned of our project and subsequently joined our alliance shortly after and participated in our working group meetings. Through these meetings, they hired and contracted with our stakeholders, e.g. HNU Energy, for their project. Hitachi lent two new 2012 Nissan LEAFs to UHMC employees in a so-called “EV Promotion Project” for a four-month period to help develop their user survey. There was also substantial bidirectional knowledge transfer between Maui EVA and JUMPsmart Maui.  

 

 

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 Maui EVA, through our extensive publicity and outreach via local events, social media, website, monthly TV episodes, monthly newspaper column, monthly newsletter, EV forums and other face-to-face get-togethers, blessing of charging station events, grew our mailing list from the 25 - 30 that attended the Kick-Off meeting to well over 500 at present. This helped “recruit” volunteers for the JUMPsmart Maui Project and helped educate residents about that project. Talk of EVs became an everyday thing rather than some far-fetched fantasy.    Maui EVA served as a “broker” of information and contacts, connecting people to each other. In this vein, we encouraged partnerships between EVSE providers and EV owners, buyers and sellers of EVs, property owners and EVSE installers, etc. We actively databased new permits and charging station installations, kept track of EV registrations, and broke down barriers to information. We helped JUMPsmart Maui review and rank ideal locations for siting charging stations on the island, a necessary step in the long process of planning. We also helped to communicate and clarify the Hawaii state laws regarding installation of charging stations to property owners and managers.    Concurrently with this project, JUMPsmart Maui installed quad-port DC Fast Chargers at five locations on the island of Maui, with plans for fifteen more. Their EV volunteer project needed 200 owners of EVs with CHAdeMO ports. At the start of the project, there were 100 EVs registered on Maui. In the absence of a Mitsubishi dealer, we needed 200 LEAFs with CHAdeMO ports. Maui EVA’s activities were instrumental in increasing EV buy-in to reach the 200 target. At time of writing this report, over 400 EVs are registered in Maui County.    

 

 

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7. Products developed under award  Our project website at http://www.mauieva.org contains all products developed from this project, press-mentions, photos, presentations, and other links useful for the EV-community. A separate intranet site contains a detailed chronology of activities and links to Google Documents, such as minutes of all 17 working group meetings. Our project is also described on the World EV Cities website.    We produced 14 one-hour episodes of “Maui EVA TV” --- 13 of which were broadcasted via digital cable television four times each weekend and viewable on Youtube. The episodes include presentations by EV conference speakers, interviews with EV and EVSE experts, EV owners, and coverage of live EV-related events on location.    We wrote and published 10 articles in our own column “EV in Paradise” in Maui Weekly, a local newspaper that’s widely distributed throughout the island of Maui with a parallel online edition. The articles are easy-to-read and intended to educate and raise awareness.    We published four publicly-releasable reports under this grant. Available as PDFs for download from our project website http://www.mauieva.org,  we  describe  them  below.    Following a visit to the neighbor islands of Molokai, Hawaii Island, Oahu, and Kauai in February 2013 to share our project results, we released the 36-page policy paper “EV Paradise: how Hawaii can lead the world in deployment” at the 2013 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit to address the barriers and solutions to EV deployment on each island in the state. The report was

 

 

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not included in the original proposal but made possible by a new partnership with UC Berkeley Law School and leftover funds from subawardees in the No Cost Extension period.    UHMC submitted the PEV infrastructure plan (a 105-page report) in February 2013 to the Department of Energy. The attachments (appendices) contain Hawaii EV Laws, properties on Maui that are subject to the EV parking/charging law, and other useful information. EVs in Paradise: Planning for the Development of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Maui County.    The Hawaii State Energy Office / DBEDT produced a 49-page report in December 2012, documenting progress-to-date of efforts led by the State Energy Office: Driving EVs Forward: A Case Study of the Market Introduction and Deployment of the EV in Hawaii.    Honolulu Clean Cities published a 41-page report in October 2012, showing results of interviews with early adopters in the state capital. Lessons Learned: The Early Adoption of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations from the Perspective of Oahu’s Commercial Properties.    After receiving the grant, we developed new partnerships and collaborated with the following organizations: JUMPsmart Maui, Big Island EV Association, UC Berkeley Law School, UC Davis (World EV Cities), Rocky Mountain Institute/Project Get ready, and Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Hawaii Chapter.    After the project close, we were invited to contribute a chapter about this project to a new book on electric vehicle business models under the framework of a project of International Energy Agency. At time of writing of this report, our chapter “EVs to Reduce Dependence on Imported Oil: Challenges and Lessons from Maui” is receiving its final edits.

 

 

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“Drive Electric Maui” Hawaiian blessing of Better Place charging station in Kihei, March 2012  

8. Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)   Nine quarterly progress reports were submitted to the Department of Energy, addressing the eight tasks described in the SOPO for each quarter of the project. We summarize and update the final project status below.   Task 1 – Management Activities and Project Coordination  The recipient will manage the cost, schedule and scope of the project and provide status and progress in accordance with the deliverables section of this document and in reference to the supplied project timetable. The recipient will coordinate the efforts of the project partners as well as solicit and gather input from relevant stakeholders.    All goals were met.  

 

 

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Task 2 – Project Assessment  The recipient will choose project assessment metric and complete an assessment plan.    The table below shows cumulative numbers of selected measurable indicators to track progress.    Table 4. Project Metric Matrix in four main periods  

Project Metric (cumulative)  

By end 2011   By end June 2012  

By end Feb 2013   By mid April 2014  

SWOT analysis   1 Nov 2011 Kick-off meeting: Limited discussion. Lack of knowledge & insight from different stakeholders.  

25 June 2012 Meeting: depth and breadth of insight & understanding from all 5 working groups.  

Jan 2013 Stakeholder Meeting: over 2 consecutive days: recommendations understood, discussed, and accepted.  

Nov & Dec 2013 conferences encompassed neighbor islands and private sectors; many partnerships were struck.  

Maui EVA mailing list   50   200   300+ individuals and growing  

500  

Number of outreach events (self-organized)  

1   10   10   23 10 self-organized conferences; 3 self-organized ride-drive events; 3 EV seminars; 7 informal Talk Story lunch/dinner get-togethers  

Speaking engagements (organized by others)  

0   1   4   11  

Number of unique broadcasts of Maui EVA TV episodes  

0   8   12   14  

Number of articles in newspaper column "EV in Paradise" (own written)  

0   0   2   11  

Number of newsletters to mailing list (self-published)  

0   2   7   14  

Number of different surveys  

1   2   2   3  

Number of survey occasions  

1   8   8   9  

 

 

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Number of respondents   41   524   524   530  

Reach of media coverage: print paper, online, websites, radio, TV - number of sources.  

9   15   22   28  

Number of known media mentions  

14   48   > 69   >87  

Number of published reports from project  

0   0   3   4  

Number of progress reports submitted to the Department of Energy

0 2 5 102

Social media:          

Twitter followers   Twitter: started February 6, 2012  

105   207   355  

Number of tweets   Facebook: started March 10, 2012  

783   1,257   1,585  

Facebook likes   0   43   99   185  

Electric Vehicle registrations in Maui County  

105   115   187   424  

DC Fast Chargers (number of locations) in Maui County  

0   0   1   63  

Task 3 - Workforce Training  The recipient will investigate the need for EV related training, identify curriculum, vendor and certification options, acquire training materials, train faculty, and begin to market the courses.    All goals were met.  

                                                                                                               2 Nine quarterly progress reports and a final management report (this one) 3 The local utility Maui Electric Company (MECO) has installed a DC Fast Charger, which once made available to the public, will increase this number to 7.

 

 

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Task 4 – Policy and Planning  The recipient will prepare and provide policy information on EV permitting, planning &  deployment policies in other localities; evaluate state-level existing policies, and determine the need for policies and incentives for plug-in electric drive vehicle implementation in Hawaii; identify key barriers to implementation (such as, zoning, permitting, inspection, consumer acceptance); and develop and implement appropriate public EV and extended-range EV policies, permitting, plans, incentives and related programs.    All goals were met.    As a result of the mid-November 2013 “Maui and Neighbor Island EV Industry Strategy Conference” held at Honua Kai Resort and Spa, a number of new legislation was proposed to add or amend to existing Hawaii State EV-related bills. Some 45 delegates, including the assistant to Senator Mike Gabbard, attended this conference on Maui. The EV bills4 proposed during the 2014 Hawaii State Legislative Session included the following:    

SB 2655 Ensures open access to electric vehicle charging systems by prohibiting the charging of a subscription fee or requiring membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using an electric vehicle charging system. Imposes requirements regarding the disclosure of charges, acceptable forms of payment, and hours of accessibility; labeling; and adoption of interoperability billing standards for the use of electric vehicle charging systems. Effective 01/01/2015.    SB 2199 Prohibits issuance of building permits beginning 1/1/2016 for new residential single-family dwellings without wiring for electric vehicle charging systems that provide level two charging or 240-volt alternating current charging.    SB 2324 Establishes an annual electric vehicle user fee, fifty per cent of which shall be deposited in the state highway fund and fifty per cent of which shall be deposited in the county highway fund.    HB 1649 Increases the maximum passenger capacity of neighborhood electric vehicles from 4 to 6. Increases the maximum weight of neighborhood electric vehicles from 1,800 pounds unladen to 3,000 pounds fully laden.    SB 2651 Financial penalties for non compliance with the parking lot EV stations law: Establishes fines beginning 1/1/2015 for owners of parking facilities with at least one hundred parking spaces that do not provide at least one parking space equipped with a charging system exclusively for electric vehicles. (SD1)  

 Barriers to effective policy implementation include lack of awareness of the existence of such policies and subsequent enforcement.                                                                                                                4 At time of writing, these bills have been proposed and heard but not yet passed as law.

 

 

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Task 5 – Information Gathering and Research The recipient will develop and implement an information management plan for obtaining, analyzing and sharing quantitative and qualitative data from charging stations, host sites, and vehicle renters/owners as well as monitoring data from the energy grid on Maui. The recipient will meet with fleets, auto dealers, hotel and multi-unit dwelling associations, analyze information collected from these meetings and write a report detailing the findings. The recipient will research, evaluate data, and document lessons learned from ongoing plug-in electric drive vehicle programs.    All goals were met. Two reports were direct results of this information gathering. Honolulu Clean Cities delivered a report of interviews conducted with early adopters of commercial charging stations in Oahu. UH Maui College and UC Berkeley Law School co-authored a report on the barriers and solutions to EV deployment in every island in the state.

  Task 6 - Consumer Behavior Study Planning The recipient will design a Maui EV consumer behavior study; complete tech transfer of research design from UCSD, identify participants and partners; and prepare for implementation of the study, post-award.    All goals were met. As UCSD did not receive the grant for their consumer behavior study, their study did not take place and no results were transferred. Instead, several phone discussions, e-mails, and a face-to-face visit were made with San Diego Clean Cities

and California Center for Sustainable Energy to learn how they designed and conducted the largest PEV survey. Furthermore, pilot surveys were administered at various Maui EVA events as preparation for further study and to engage the community.  

 

 

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Task 7 –Develop PEV Infrastructure Plan  The recipient will develop and finalize a community based electric vehicle infrastructure readiness plan which contains and addresses, at a minimum, the critical elements 6-10 identified in Appendix 1, Sample Plan Outline, of the Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000451.    All goals were met.    The revised 105-page report was submitted in February 2013 after a two-day feedback session with major stakeholders in January. The report was presented and shared with stakeholders in the neighbor islands of Molokai, Hawaii Island, Oahu, and Kauai in late February - early March 2013, whereupon it emerged that these stakeholders also requested assistance in EV readiness planning and implementation. Maui EVA actively introduced much-needed and requested EV expert contacts to Big Island EV Association, whose members have not been able to meet face to face because of the lack of charging stations. At the writing of this report, the association just announced the installation of its first DC Fast Charger, a direct result of our collaboration.     Task 8 – Outreach  The recipient will develop project communications including a social media campaign and a project website, represent the project at relevant events, identify and develop new stakeholders, conduct stakeholder meetings on neighbor islands, and share survey results, plans, and reports with neighbor islands.    All goals were met.    This task was presented as the single most important contribution of Maui EVA at the workshop in Knoxville in May 2013. Outreach to stakeholders in Maui and neighbor islands included regular mentions in the press, own newspaper column “EV in Paradise,” self-produced television program, ad hoc get-togethers for lunch and dinner so-called “Maui EVA Talk Story,” expert-led EV seminars and forums, ride and drive events, speaking engagements, self-organized conferences free to the public, active social media, first-hand testimonies, monthly newsletters, etc. Four reports published from the project are downloadable from the website.

 

 

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 Maui EVA Kick-Off at the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, November 1, 2011

   9. Major Milestones  

 Oct 1, 2011 Grant awarded to University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC)  

Nov 1, 2011 Official Kick-Off event at Grand Wailea, local media, stakeholder commitments  

Dec 8, 2011 Green Tech Media names Maui EVA third most innovative EV initiative in the USA  

Dec 20, 2011 Premiere of film “Revenge of the Electric Car” and formation of working group committees, first “EV Awareness” survey administered, start of 17 weekly working group meetings at UH Maui College  

Jan 19, 2012 Work-in-Progress meeting - all stakeholders in working groups  

March 9, 2012 “Drive Electric Maui” blessing/dedication of Better Place charging station rollout in Maui. EV test rides given by EV owners. 2nd EV Awareness Survey administered. Interviews & video footage used in first episode of Maui EVA TV premiered on UHMC digital cable TV on March 24, 2012.  

April 27, 2012 “Plug-in Maui: Challenges and Opportunities” all day EV conference with speakers from Honolulu, San Diego, Portland, including video conferencing. Premiere of “What is the Electric Car?” movie.  

 

 

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May 5 - 9, 2012 Maui EVA representation at World EV Cities Forum and EVS26 in Los Angeles  

May 18, 2012 First EV-Blast (monthly newsletter) sent through Maui EVA mailing list  

June 25, 2012 Maui EVA Planning Meeting - all working groups  

July 3, 2012 Maui EVA TV one-hour episodes uploaded on YouTube Channel - total 14 made during project  

July 29, 2012 Launch of Maui EVA first hand testimonies, white papers published on website  

Sept 21, 2012 Blessing of first DC Fast Charger in Maui; Proclamation of National Plug-in Day  

Sept 22, 2012 National Plug-in Day at UH Maui College Swap Meet, 3rd EV Awareness Survey administered for free weekend EV rental, ride and drive by local dealerships and EV car rental companies  

Sept 27-30, 2012 First EV parade and 90th Maui Fair, a LEAF and VOLT on display for all four days of the fair, 4th EV Awareness Survey administered for 5 free weekend EV rentals. Booth received honorable mention award.  

Dec 12, 2012 Submission of implementation plan to Dept of Energy  

Jan 10, 2013 First article in own newspaper column “EV in Paradise” published in Maui Weekly  

Jan 14-15, 2013 Two all-day strategy meetings to discuss and revise the implementation plan with major stakeholders  

Feb 2, 2013 “EV in Paradise” photoshoot in West Maui with UHMC digital photography class. Photos later used in press releases, publicity for events, and reports.  

Feb 14, 2013 Revised implementation plan submitted to Dept of Energy  

Feb 23 - Mar 1, 2013 Neighbor Island Outreach - sharing of Maui EVA results with stakeholders in Molokai, Hawaii Island, Oahu, and Kauai  

April 11-12, 2013 First Annual Sustainability Summit at UH West Oahu: Maui EVA presentation and chair of “clean and alternative transportation” session  

April 22, 2013 Earth Day at UHMC, NEDO and Hitachi presentations, Maui EVA EV Panel and interviews for 13th episode of Maui EVA TV  

May 1, 2013 Maui EVA presentation at DOE’s EV Community Readiness Workshop at UT Knoxville, Tennessee  

May 20-21, 2013 Maui EVA poster presentation at NextSTEPS Forum at UC Davis, CA  

 

 

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June 3, 2013 Maui EVA joins World EV Cities as 22nd partner city  

June 15, 2013 JUMPsmart Maui, official new name of Japan US Smart Grid Project, rollout of Hitachi DC Fast Chargers on maui  

June 18, 2013 Maui EVA presentation at Molokai Clean Energy Initiative meeting  

July 18, 2013 Maui EVA e-mail blast to UHMC mail listserv Nissan’s Vehicle Purchase Plan offers discount for employees  

Aug 4, 2013 UHMC EV owner survey administered  

Sept 9-11, 2013 Maui EVA releases new joint report “EV Paradise: how Hawaii can lead the world in deployment” at Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit in Honolulu. Two EV panels.  

Nov 15, 2013 Maui EVA Finale Meeting at UHMC, recorded and broadcasted by Akaku TV and available on Maui EVA TV Youtube Channel.  

Nov 16, 2013 Maui and Neighbor Islands EV Industry Strategy Conference, Honua Kai Resort  

Dec 13-15, 2013 Maui EVA Implementation Meeting at Grand Wailea Resort & Spa  

January 23, 2014 10th article in EV in Paradise newspaper column published  

January 31, 2014 End of grant  

March 9, 2014 Submission of “EVs to Reduce Dependence on Imported Oil: Challenges and Lessons from Maui” as invited contributor to a chapter in a forthcoming book on electric vehicle business models (International Energy Agency)  

March 13-14, 2014 Maui EVA Poster Presentation at 2nd Annual Sustainability Summit, Windward Community College, Oahu

April 7, 2014 First meeting at UH Maui College to form an EV users group to develop campus EV parking and charging policy

April 17, 2014 11th article in “EV in Paradise” newspaper column, Maui Weekly – “EV for Earth Day”

April 22, 2014 Double blessing of charging stations at UH Maui College on Earth Day with photo shoot of EVs.

 

 

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The first EV parade on Maui, before the 90th Maui Fair September 2012

10. Any changes in approach or aims and reasons for changes    The original intention was to have Maui’s visitor industry pay for and provide “EV in Paradise” for its two million annual visitors. Rental car companies would buy EVs and sell them second-hand to local residents after use. Accelerated adoption would occur through rental fleets. There would be little if any role for residents initially.    While the above vision of “EV in Paradise” for the visitor industry still holds, the project took a “detour” mid-way. Leaders of the visitor industry disagreed with this focus due to perceived risk of range anxiety, inconvenience, stranded EVs without charge, and accidents, the experience of which may cause negative publicity. Instead they proposed residents to bear the EV adoption and infrastructure costs. Without sufficient infrastructure support from hotels and tourist destinations, rental car companies did not invest as much as expected. To-date there are still only two rental car companies with a handfuls of EVs to rent.    The project then refocused on local residents through frequent engagement via “Talk Story” sessions (informal lunch and dinners to chit chat and discuss), expert-led EV seminars and discussion forums, National Plug-in Day ride and drive events, occasions where local residents gather such as the four-day 90th Maui Fair and parade. There was little discussion of EVs in fleets due to lack of suitable EV models available. During the period of the project, while Oahu was stepping up in installation of charging stations in multi-unit dwellings (MUDs), Maui

 

 

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remained focussed on public charging infrastructure and incentives for EV adoption.   To summarize, through this project, we have:  

1. Created a visionary strategy for achieving integration of EVs into Maui’s unique island environment, renewable resources, and tourism economy

 To give our two million annual visitors the so-called “EV in paradise”, we first have to get the residents to experience it first. This means continuous public awareness, engagement, education, and removing the cost barrier through leasing solutions and discounts. Forty percent of the Maui County workforce supports the visitor industry, and these are the residents that need to be knowledgeable and comfortable with the new technology.    

2. Identified best practices for managing EV use through three stages of market share growth: short term (2011-2013), mid-term (2013-2015) and long term (2016-20). EV ready, EV willing, EV able.

 Stage 1: Form and organize stakeholders, establish relationships, learn from early adopters, set-up and use social media to continue the conversation, raise awareness, make EV material available through self-service project website, Maui EVA stakeholders, and other gatekeepers.    Stage 2: Amend and pass new EV-related policies and laws, enable workplace charging.    Stage 3: Once residents and workplace charging have matured, visitor industry gets ready.  

 

 

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11. Conclusions and Next Steps The alliances fostered by Maui EVA will pay dividends for years to come. Model procedures and best practices for setting up stakeholder groups and boosting EV deployment can be shared with other islands, states, and even island countries. The EV rental market in vacation destinations in particular will greatly benefit from lessons learned and documented in this project. However, no plan for sustainability was developed for this project beyond the grant period. In the three months since it ended, there has been continuing need for information, access to experts, policy development, and public relations. A volunteer EV owner group is forming to respond to some concerns, but will lack the community standing that an institution-led effort provides. At time of writing, we are preparing for a double blessing of the charging stations at UH Maui College main campus on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2014. We are cognizant of the need to train our campus security staff and develop an EV parking and charging policy for employees, students, and visitors. To date, none of the 424 registered EV owners on Maui have been systematically surveyed on their EV purchasing, driving, and charging experience. Surveys conducted during the period of the grant focused on EV awareness among residents who were not yet EV owners. This transformation (from interest to ownership) occurred in the final months of the grant. Similarly, charging station hosts on Maui have not been interviewed. Much can be learned from them concerning permits, policies, challenges and benefits. Maui and the neighbor islands have limited public transportation systems, and personal vehicles

 

 

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are required for access to most areas. While there have been experiments with carpooling, car sharing and newer forms of collaborative consumption have not yet been explored. Similarly, delivery and service vehicles are candidates for electrification, yet most business and government entities continue to wait on EV purchases. Of immediate need is training and certification of EV mechanics and first responders. A few individuals have received that training, but experience is limited and most access is through online viewing of training material. This is a new transportation paradigm, for which there is a need for both education and advocacy. We strongly encourage DOE to consider further support of efforts such as Maui EVA. Based on this project, and future needs, our community college would be interested in:

• Certification for service technicians, towing companies and electrical inspectors • Hosting first responder trainings, including police, fire, tow truck drivers, and EMTs (in

person) • Workshops for EV owners, facilities managers, landlords, and business owners • Hosting EV awareness events such as information sessions, ride and drive, hands-on

sessions • Design and development of training specific to the visitor industry: rental car staff, valet,

bell captain, concierge, front desk, operations director, marketing staff, tour operators, destination managers

• Research into decision making processes in the purchase/lease of EV and EVSEs, influence of PV on EV decisions and vice versa, and overall energy and transportation needs

• Research into the word-of-mouth effect on EV adoption, second-hand market for EVs, retrofit / conversion proposition, and other topics unique to island situation

http://maui.hawaii.edu/eva/