Know these three steps when defining an EV fleet’s goals

EV insights

• With climate action plans prompting cities to reduce their carbon footprint, there has been an increase in demand for electrifying cities fleets.
• Coupled with the amount of federal dollars available, cities throughout the country are putting infrastructure electrification plans and face multiple challenges throughout the process.

In 2021, the federal government set a goal of having 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers constructed by 2030. Its plan allocated $7.5 billion to install EV chargers across the country. The government earmarked $2 billion of these funds for states and cities. The plan’s intent is to incentivize cities, in the form of grants, to electrify their fleets. To secure these grants, cities are required to submit an EV infrastructure plan that lays out their needs to electrify their fleets.

Kimley-Horn and Associates EV planners have identified three challenges that typically arise when creating EV infrastructure plans for municipal infrastructure.

1. High-level, interdepartmental coordination and alignment

Each city comprises of several departments (e.g., police, fire, water, aviation, etc.). These departments all have fleet vehicles that are used in different capacities (e.g., sedan, light duty, heavy duty, etc.). With cities mandating electrification of vehicle fleets, departments pose different constraints and objections based on factors like fleet usage, political beliefs and fear of workflow disruption.

As planners, consulting engineers must coordinate with the various departments and craft an executable plan that best serves their varying needs. In many cases, engineers facilitate interdepartmental coordination and city employees are required to negotiate between the departments so that the established plan can best serve everyone. This sometimes requires concessions to be made to meet critical goals for the federal grant submission.

2. Emergency preparedness

Municipalities are required to have a contingency plan in place for when the electrical grid fails due to natural disasters or high peak demands. Each city prepares in a manner that it feels best supports its needs. Clients differ in needs regarding emergencies. One city client wants 96 hours of backup power, while another may not need any.

The simple reality is that to charge the vehicles in a city’s fleet, the electrical grid needs to be continuous and operational. However, grid failure is likely to follow when these natural disasters occur. Many of the vehicles in the city fleets are used by first responders and these personnel and their vehicles are required to be operational during emergencies and even during sustained grid outages.

The EV infrastructure plan must provide power contingency for when the grid fails. The simplest solution is a diesel generator that can generate electricity and charge the vehicles. Unfortunately, a diesel generator does not meet the carbon-neutral goals that many cities have.

Figure 1: This shows the three challenges faced by cities when creating electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure plans. Courtesy: Kimley-Horn and Associates

There are varying emergency preparedness options depending on the city’s budget and goals. Whether the right option is a battery energy storage system (BESS), a hybrid solution that includes BESS and an interconnected solar array or other alternative energy fuel solutions such as hydrogen fuel cells, natural gas generators or a combination of all solutions, the engineering firm is responsible for bridging the gap between the cities’ goals and its budget for their EV infrastructure plan.

3. Procurement of vehicles to match infrastructure investment timelines

Cities are in a difficult position because it needs to take advantage of the federal EV grants while they exist. However, the EV market’s economics and supply chain differ from the time frame for grant use. In many cases, cities spend millions of dollars on EV infrastructure that allows them to charge their fleets, but they cannot yet purchase a fleet of EVs that meets their needs.

For instance, Kimley-Horn and Associates experts worked with a city in Arizona that placed an order for 84 light-duty EV trucks more than two years ago, which has yet to be filled and no procurement date is scheduled. Due to the limited supply of light-duty EV trucks, cities are faced with the possibility of making a significant investment without knowing when it will see the investments come to fruition.

EV charging goals

The push to reach the goal of a half-million EV chargers across the country is lofty. This goal could be a lucrative opportunity for those who support the planning, design and installation of these chargers, namely consultants and construction companies. However, due to the unique circumstances associated with executing a plan of this magnitude, this opportunity comes with challenges.

A transformation in transportation is taking place in the United States. EVs are the way of the future and challenges will arise as this transformation occurs. There is no manual for cities to implement EV infrastructure plan. Most cities do not have subject matter experts on staff because EV chargers have only been installed domestically for about a decade in the U.S.

Cities need help from consultants and EV experts nationwide. EV consultants will take the lead in finding solutions that overcome these challenges. As daunting as one side of the coin is, the other is filled with abundant potential.

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