Buzz Buzz... Electric Vehicles are Coming

Evaluating the technical and financial feasibility for electric vehicle charging stations in
Kit Carson, CO

Project Summary

Community: Kit Carson, CO
Technical Assistance: Electric Vehicle Assessment
Former Use: Auto Dealer, Repair Shop, Storage
Future Use: Commercial co-working space

Kit Carson is a small unincorporated town on the Eastern
Plains of Colorado, with a population of just 310 people.
Despite its size, the community sits along major travel routes
between Texas and Colorado and hopes to take advantage of
their location to foster economic growth. Kit Carson Rural
Development (KCRD) is a non-profit, volunteer-run
organization working to promote the Kit Carson community.
KCRD is hoping to capitalize on the town's interest in energy
efficiency and renewable energy to bridge sustainability and
economic activity.

The Community's Challenge

The Town has identified a former automobile repair and
storage site as the location of a new business incubator and
shared workspace building. The former Paxson building site
was previously used for a fuel station and repair site, leaving
two underground storage tanks and other potential
groundwater and soil contamination. Using a 2009
Brownfields clean up grant and matching funds from the State
of Colorado, the site has been remediated and is ready for
reuse today. With the growing interest in renewable energy
and their location along US-287, KCRD would like to install
electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the new workspace.
However, KCRD needed assistance to understand the
technical feasiblity and costs associated with installing EV
stations at the site.

EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance

In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Land
Revitalization Program provided contractor technical
assistance to complete an assessment of the technical and

financial feasibility of EV charging stations at the former
Paxson building site.

The analysis consisted of an assessment of the site
conditions and other EV charging infrastructure developments
in the area. Using a model to assess feasibility, the team
researched 50 kW and 150 kW DC Fast chargers (DCFC)
and a Level 2 charger. The model details several
assumptions that impacted future expected revenues
including, grid infrastructure upgrade costs, hardware and
installation costs, operation and maintenance costs, state and
federal incentives, projected utilization rates, electricity costs
and charging fees. The model also accounted for the possible
use of the DCFC stations by a national energy company,

Enel, which is beginning construction on a wind farm near the
site. Based on the model projections, the involvement of Enel
has large impacts on the revenue generation potential of the
EV stations. KCRD may want to prepare the site for EV
stations in the future, as incentives improve and more people
drive EVs.

Summary of Economic Feasibility of a DCFC arid a Level 2 Charger
based on 10 Year Projections. DCFC projections include a 50kW and
150kW charger.

For more information, contact Tim Rehder, EPA Region 8
Brownfields Program, at Rehder.Timothv@epa.aov or Stacey
Eriksen at eriksen.stacev@epa.gov.

Scenario

DCFC with
Enel (50/150)

DCFC without
Enel (50/150)

Level 2
Charger

Low Utilization

$20,410
-$21,556

-$94,726
-$237,755

-$4,000

Medium Utilization

$69,636
$27,670

-$45,500
-$188,529

-$2,667

High Utilization

$120,647
$78,681

$5,512
-$137,517

$1,411

United States
Environmental Protection
M % Agency

Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
560-F-22-038

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