The U.S. National Park Service's (NPS) Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GOGA) put the pedal to the metal in meeting the Biden Administration's goals of electrifying the federal fleet.
NPS partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to conduct their electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) Tiger Team site assessment in December 2021, days before Executive Order 14057 hit the streets.
GOGA's small but mighty team of three (Laura Castellini, Sustainability Coordinator for GOGA’s Planning and Environmental Programs; Richard De La O, GOGA's Accessibility Program Manager; and Tommie Scherf, Fleet Manager Detail) partnered with FEMP’s EVSE Tiger Team engineers to scope out an electrified future for GOGA. FEMP's EVSE Tiger Team offers technical guidance to all federal agencies on EVSE planning, technology options, and installation cost estimates. Sites participating in the EVSE Tiger Teams are helping to inform and pilot the whole-of government EVSE site assessment tool (EVI-LOCATE), which will aid agencies in EVSE planning.
Participation of GOGA and other select sites with the FEMP EVSE Tiger Team will help ensure an EVSE site assessment process that meets the unique needs of NPS, and will aid development of a strategic assessment for NPS sites to meet our fleet electrification goals.
NPS headquarters, Washington Area Support Office (WASO), were pleased to see GOGA's desire to "lead by example" and show how NPS and the federal government can plan for a future with more electric vehicles (EVs) operated by NPS staff as well as visitors. Monta Baskerville, Energy Program Manager, WASO, indicated that "Participation of GOGA and other select sites with the FEMP EVSE Tiger Team will help ensure an EVSE site assessment process that meets the unique needs of NPS, and will aid development of a strategic assessment for NPS sites to meet our fleet electrification goals."
Challenges and barriers are identified and addressed during the EVSE site planning and assessment process. According to Castellini, the "biggest issue is that our infrastructure overall is old and doesn't have a lot of capacity, which is one of our barriers to electrification efforts." The FEMP EVSE Tiger Teams work to incorporate site concerns in the analysis and final report, which helps sites understand their options and prepare to remove hurdles.
GOGA began the assessment by reviewing their site-specific ZPAC (Zero emission vehicle Planning And Charging tool) for their entire fleet, "We had 10 vehicles up for replacement in FY22. Working with FEMP and the GOGA-specific ZPAC informed us on what vehicles were available to electrify, and we were able to submit a request for two ZEVs under our FY22 budget and considering driver needs," said De La O.
"We had 10 vehicles up for replacement in FY22. Working with FEMP and the GOGA-specific ZPAC informed us on what vehicles were available to electrify, and we were able to submit a request for two ZEVs under our FY22 budget and considering driver needs."
After understanding their near-term zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) options, GOGA worked with the FEMP EVSE Tiger Team to complete the EVSE planning spreadsheet where they focused on two locations (with over a dozen throughout the park) to plan for EVSE deployment. Thirteen percent of the fleet at the three sites were already ZEVs, with an additional 43% determined during the ZPAC process to be potential ZEV candidates in Fiscal Year 2022. By focusing on these two locations, the EVSE Tiger Team provided detailed assessment for the locations that housed vehicles that would be replaced with ZEVs in the near-term, while providing GOGA with the knowledge and tools to assess their remaining sites for EVSE potential in the future.
Ashley Pennington, FEMP's lead for the EVSE Tiger Team with GOGA, highlights how the EVSE Tiger Team supports FEMP’s whole-of-government approach to fleet electrification. "The combination of an EVSE champion and knowledgeable staff at GOGA with our NREL experts prepared the site for EVSE planning and deployment and informed our planning tool. Each agency participating in our EVSE Tiger Teams informs our EVSE planning tool and enhances its usability and buy-in across the government."
The EVSE Tiger Team at GOGA culminated on Feb. 28, 2022, with a final report to the site and a presentation by FEMP’s fleet experts to the GOGA team, GOGA site leadership, and NPS WASO. This FEMP EVSE Tiger Team program will continue to support federal sites in meeting the Administration goals around fleet electrification through engineering, planning, and economic tools that speed the federal government's transition to a ZEV future.
Learn More
Read the full NREL report, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Federal Fleet Tiger Team EVSE Site Assessment.