The installation of electric vehicle chargers at Zion Lodge helps lessen the human impact a bit/Xanterra Parks & Resorts
Fewer things will snake their way across the pavement at Zion Lodge in Zion National Park now that two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have opened.
'When you see guests requesting extension cords so they can plug in their vehicles, you know there's a demand out there,' said Daisy Hobbs, general manager of the lodge. 'We have had to be creative in the past to provide them with ways to recharge.'
Sometimes this means cars plugged in next to the maintenance shop; other times, a cord might run from an outlet in a cabin across the sidewalk and out to the parking lot.
To improve on the process, the lodge began studying EV charging stations in 2013. In early November, it turned on the juice to the Level 2 Clipper Creek Dual CS 40 systems, located in a parking lot near the western cabins. These units, funded by Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which operates Zion Lodge, allow two cars to recharge at once. While eventually they will be reserved for lodge guests, the chargers now are open to any park visitor on a first-come, first-served basis, for free.
Zion Lodge is one of the few national park lodges to offer electric car charging stations and offers the only accommodations in the park. Registered lodge guests may drive into the lodge any time of year; other park visitors may drive into the park only from November through March.
Prior to the stations' installation, drivers' nearest charging options were less convenient and much less picturesque: RV parks, hotels, or a supercharger more than 40 miles away in St. George, Utah.
Putting a charging station in the park creates a draw.
"Our guests are increasingly focused on softening their own footprints as travelers," said Hobbs.
Now they can come to the park, take a hike, and spend the night, recharging their own batteries as well as their cars', she said.
EVs come from throughout the region. Lodge staff have visited with EV drivers from southern California, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, said Hobbs, with more and more coming from Southern Utah. There are charging stations in Las Vegas, between Zion Lodge and Salt Lake City, and along the route from Las Vegas to California, Hobbs said.
As part of its efforts to help EV drivers plan their trips, Zion Lodge is adding itself to charging station finder websites such as one maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Mark Larsen owned the first Nissan Leaf delivered to Utah/Xanterra Parks & Resorts
While the volume of expected use is difficult to predict, Hobbs said she expects most people will spend between six and eight hours at the chargers. Meters are recording how many guests use the charger, how long their charging sessions are, and how much electricity the charges use, she said. With this data, they will study the trends and make future decisions. Because the program is new, Zion Lodge chose a basic system that it can expand upon as needs evolve, she said.
The stations' electricity use is offset with wind power, and this EV effort is one of many environmental projects at Zion Lodge. The lodge has received numerous awards for its programs, including 'Top Product of the Year' in the Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards in March 2014 for developing water-cooled walk-in refrigeration units for its Red Rock Grill kitchen. Xanterra received a LODGING Sustainability Award in October for its numerous sustainability initiatives.
These new chargers are harbingers of good things to come for EV drivers. Five additional public EV charging stations are being built in Zion National Park as part of the Clean Cities National Parks Initiative, which is scattering public charging stations in national parks around the country. In a separate initiative, Point Reyes National Seashore unveiled new chargers in September.
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