Project Summary: Gradient Xergy is working with three Olympic Peninsula tribes, including Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (JST), Squaxin Island Tribe, and the Skokomish Tribe, on transportation electrification (TE) planning and infrastructure assessment. The following recounts a site visit between our team and some of our partners in the project, Ions for EVs and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.
Site Visit
Jon and I met with Andrea (Ions for EV’s) and Luke and Robert (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe) in January to visit the site of our recent project. We visited multiple JST properties, including the Longhouse, Hotel/Casino, Library, Human Resources, Bus Barn, and the Public Safety/Justice Center. Since we all rode together in Jon’s Rivian, we did not waste any time or silo our discussions.
The Public Safety Center was a priority since the agency just received a Ford F150 Lightning the week before (Note Sgt. Lehman’s smile in the photo). We learned that, like the new Lightning, some 90 tribal fleet vehicles go home with the employees each day, so the tribe needs to find home charging solutions as they transition to electric.
We observed a healthy adoption of electric vehicles on our visit as over 50% of available EVSE was being used by fleet, employee, or public vehicles. Twenty of their 31 charging stations need updating since the network that served them left the market. JST wants to be able to track energy use and manage access again. We had a few leads for service providers for this and shared these with Luke.
Luke reminded us that JST is a small tribe, so they are nimble, with strong and consistent leadership since the tribe’s inception with Council Chair W. Ron Allen. They have a strong business mindset. Their latest focus is building an expansive recreation site at The Historic Jamestown Village and Beach which includes a large shelter and cooking facility. This is the second to last stop on the Tribal Annual Canoe Journey later this year, so they would like everything, including vehicle charging, to be in place for the event.
We took a lot of notes and gained insight into what they are doing and need. My takeaway from this trip is that JST is choosing electric vehicles and installing EVSE where and when it makes sense. It is nice to hear that approximately 30 of the 500 employees choose electric for their private vehicles. The presence of other EVs and availability of public charging creates a positive environment for EV adoption.
The team expects to deliver a fully developed transportation electrification plan by the summer of 2025. For more information about the project, please contact us in the form below.