States, electric utilities work to build out EV charging infrastructure network
One of the key themes that emerged during six recent regional meetings on building out a national electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure included the importance of states engaging electric utilities as part of a broad range of stakeholders needed to build out the network.
“As the states undertake planning and early implementation activities, they are working closely with investor-owned and consumer-owned utilities to ensure that there is adequate power available at sites,” National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) President David Terry wrote in an email on Monday.
“While the buildout will take time, states at the meetings were optimistic and excited at the progress to date, and are looking forward to working together to roll out a nationwide network of EV chargers in the coming years,” wrote Terry.
The EV regional meetings, held Feb. 15-16 in Grand Rapids, Mich., were led by NASEO and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in partnership with the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
The organizations convened leaders from state departments of transportation, state energy offices, and other key partners for invitation-only, in-person regional meetings to coordinate on National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program planning and implementation.
The meetings included state discussions with utilities on utility coordination in EV infrastructure buildout, according to NASEO and AASHTO, which this month released the summary, “Building a National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network: Regional EV Meetings Key Themes, Takeaways, and Recommendations from the States.”
“State-utility engagement is valuable in strategically planning for EV charging infrastructure,” according to the summary. “Engaging with regulated and unregulated electric utilities early and often is a key way to identify sites, as well as determine the infrastructure upgrades required to deliver power to sites.”
Terry told Daily Energy Insider that state representatives explored the unique challenges and opportunities for EV infrastructure investment in different regions of the country. The meetings provided states an opportunity to explore NEVI implementation challenges, technical assistance needs, priorities for states’ infrastructure buildout in the coming year, and best practices in implementing state-led EV charging programs. States also got the chance to build relationships with peers and partners within their region, he said.
“The EV market is growing significantly, with more drivers purchasing EVs than ever before,” Terry said. “While the vast majority of EV charging will take place at home, there is a need for strategically placed DC fast chargers to enable a quick charge when drivers are taking longer trips, or find themselves away from home and needing a few more miles.”
The Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act provided $5 billion to build the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Network, which will create a backbone of EV fast chargers across the country, he added.
“State energy offices, who have long led EV infrastructure deployment activities in their states, are working hand-in-hand with state departments of transportation, who will be administering the $5 billion NEVI program, to build out these chargers in an efficient, strategic, equitable manner,” said Terry.
And that’s why it’s important for states to engage a variety of stakeholders, including electric utilities, community groups, Clean Cities Coalitions, disadvantaged communities, metropolitan planning organizations, and other state agencies, on planning and implementing EV programs, according to the summary.
“Stakeholder engagement strategies identified included hosting public meetings in communities, as well as submitting a Request for Information to solicit feedback from the EV industry, potential site hosts, community groups, municipalities, utilities, and other key partners,” the NASEO-AASHTO summary says.
Another key theme identified by the states during the EV regional meetings regarded supply chain constraints with both utility infrastructure and EV charging equipment that they said could impede the swift deployment of NEVI stations.
“Supply chain constraints with EV charging equipment, as well as utility infrastructure like transformers and switchgear, were mentioned in every regional meeting as a potential obstacle to efficient NEVI deployment,” the summary says. “Many utilities quoted a 12-to-24-month backlog on transformer delivery, which will be critical to deliver power to many NEVI stations.”
In addition to such constraints, states said that the Build America, Buy America requirements could cause additional delays on acquiring EV charging equipment and grid infrastructure that adhere to the requirements, according to the summary, and there’s uncertainty among states about how to certify Buy America requirements and whether the project awardee or the state transportation department would be responsible for determining Buy America compliance.
“States had questions on how awardees could verify the legitimacy of manufacturers’ adherence to Buy America standards,” the summary says. “A list of Buy America compliant manufacturers and EV service providers were noted as a tool that could help states ensure applicants are adhering to the Buy America requirements for NEVI-funded projects.”
Also during the discussions, states across all regions said there’s a need to communicate early and often with utilities during EV infrastructure planning and deployment.
“During the discussions with regional utilities many states noted challenges in accessing hosting capacity data, as well as obtaining a site analysis from their utilities,” the summary says, noting that the high-level assessment can be helpful in site selection for states.
States mentioned that some utilities were unable to provide any site analysis on hosting capacity. Several utilities said during the meetings that internal staffing shortages may result in delayed processing of site evaluation requests.
“If states require site evaluations from applicants or grantees, utilities recommended that adequate time should be built into the application and proposal process to accommodate potential site evaluation delays,” the summary says. “In the utility discussions it was evident that states need timely access to reliable data when planning for NEVI and future large scale EV infrastructure projects.”
Other key themes for states included managing underutilized EV charging stations; questions regarding how to monitor and enforce uptime requirements under the NEVI program; external workforce development challenges in the EV sector, such as a shortage of qualified EV station installers, electricians with EV certifications, and utility workers; and how sites will manage vandalism and theft of EV charging equipment, among others.
The NASEO-AASHTO Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure National Conference will be held July 13-14 in Arlington, Va.
