EV charging stations come to North Battleford Gold Eagle Casino

“We felt like our locations were a great location for people to stop and charge and come enjoy some entertainment and it fit well with our business I think and our business model,” added Morin.

At the North Battleford location, Gold Eagle will feature five chargers (two level three chargers: 125 kW total), two level two chargers: 7.2 kW each and a single level two charger: 15 kW provided through a partnership with Porshe Canada.

The first three casinos to go live in early February will be Gold Eagle, Yorkton’s Painted Hand Casino and Prince Albert’s Northern Lights Casino. Morin said in phase two, which will happen over the next couple of years, in an additional partnership with the federal government, EV stations will be rolled out to SIGA’s four other properties.

“We’ve received no negative feedback on it whatsoever. I’ve been paying attention to the EV Facebook groups and stuff like that and seeing what the chatter is with people and seeing what the community’s looking for,” he said.

“Everything I’ve seen so far has been very positive.”

EV challenges

According to Glenn Wright, board member and one of the directors with SaskEV, there are two main deterrents preventing people from making the switch over to EVs: affordability and range anxiety and lack of charging infrastructure.

“Anytime a business like the Gold Eagle Casino in North Battleford or others install charging infrastructure, not only is it…helpful for them to attract clients – especially the casino being a destination charging spot,” he said of the activities to be had while the vehicle charges.

“Any charging infrastructure is helping to address the range anxiety and provide options for people – especially people who live in apartments or may not have their own garage where they can install a charger.”

Wright explained that while the EV community is growing in the province, he and other drivers have faced vitriol from people for switching from traditional vehicles.

“Many of us early adopters, we did take the courage to try and help explain to people and demystify what it’s like to own an EV in Saskatchewan and share our experiences because they’re generally positive experiences,” the non-profit director said.

Those positive experiences were not enough to escape the drivers from the hate speech they face.

“I actually took the initiative to put lettering – vinyl lettering – in the back window of my car that just says, ‘Electric car saves $300 per month,’” said Wright.

“I’m not talking at all about climate change or about shutting down the oil industry. I’m just trying to educate people that if you do a substantial amount of driving, the savings that you can enjoy for operating an electric vehicle are dramatic.”

He believes what is causing the abuse and hate speech is mostly due to misinformation online and people who work in the oil and gas sector. In fact, some EV charging stations in other communities have been vandalized.

“It’s shameful that we’ve got some people who are really focused beliefs related to climate change or in some cases religious beliefs or, I guess succumbing to the propaganda that electric vehicles are harmful and that they don’t work,” he said.

As someone who lives on a farm outside of Saskatoon and is about to enter his sixth winter driving an EV, he has no fear about what lies ahead.

“They work in minus 40. Are they different? I mean does the range drop in the cold? Absolutely it does, but it’s very predictable and it’s been very reliable.”

According to an information package put together by the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association (SEVA), SaskEV and Tesla Owners Saskatchewan, with information from Statistics Canada, 5.2 per cent of all vehicles registered in 2021, were zero-emission vehicles.

Charging ahead

Meanwhile, Morin said having more infrastructure will make the transition easier.

“It just makes it more viable for people to actually use EVs throughout the province, throughout their normal day-to-day or normal I guess seasonal activities,” he said, noting there are more and more options are becoming available.

“The more opportunities they have, the less waits they have to make in lineups or anything like that for the existing chargers.”

Morin said it will take time and it is an expensive endeavor but there are options.

“With the government’s support out there to broaden the infrastructure, it does make it a lot more viable for companies that are looking to do this, right?”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On X: jls194864

by Julia Lovett-Squires

EV charging stations come to North Battleford Gold Eagle Casino

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