The future looks bright for the EV market: A guide to navigating the Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts

Both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act offer many incentives for municipalities and individuals to invest in electronic vehicles (EV) and the underlying infrastructure. With sky-high oil pricing and growing climate concerns, the topic of EVs and related charging infrastructure are in the news. Let’s look at the opportunities these historic investment bills can offer local governments looking to expand their EV capabilities.

One of the critical factors to growing adoption is easy accessibility to reliable and fast charging stations. Although the federal government’s infrastructure bill gets national headlines, the trickle down to the state and local level for spending projects will drive expansion of EV charging stations in 2023 and 2024. Locally, 70-80 percent of the acquisition costs could be supported by the bill if local entities navigate the ins and outs of the bill.

The infrastructure funding will be controlled by the federal Department of Transportation (DOT). Individual state DOTs will access funding from the federal DOT, and local governments will access these funds from their state DOTs. For example, in New York there is funding for local government Level 2 Workplace and public charging through the energy office (NYSERDA) and Department of Conservation.

State and local governments are also using cooperative contracts to acquire EV charging stations. This has been a trend among states to potentially simplify the buying process. One of the more time-consuming components of scaling out EV charging platforms is the site-by-site request for proposal (RFP) process. The good news is that cooperative contracts can greatly accelerate the process. Many states have their own procurement agencies, whereby EV charging manufacturers get their equipment listed on these contracts. There are also multiple cooperative purchasing groups that can be used by any government or non-profit entity. The bad news is that this can result in pricing complications—especially once the requirements go beyond Level 2 chargers.

For local and state governments looking to acquire EV charging stations for agency and public use, partnering with a company that can work with multiple vendors can be critical in leveraging all the components associated with acquiring and operating EV charging stations. For instance, many vendors either cannot or will not work with each other. Having a partner that is closely matched to the end user’s fleet will ensure interoperability. Since EVs also have different charging profiles, it is imperative that both the types of vehicles and the fleet’s operation are matched to the proper EV charging station. Some government fleets may also require different charger vendors—making it necessary for these chargers to utilize open software protocols to allow different vendors to communicate with each other. A partner that has relationships with multiple charger manufacturers can offer better overall value, performance, and futureproofing for the fleet. Additionally, service and support are critical to the success of a charging project. A national partner—with technicians trained on multiple platforms—will help ensure that your project is successful.

There are additional considerations in how EV charging stations are acquired. There are potential tax credit advantages to leasing verses owning the charging stations. There are both federal and state tax credits on EV chargers that are not currently available to government facilities since they are not taxable entities. Leasing the equipment allows the leasing company to take these credits and use them to buy down the cost of the lease to federal, state, and local governments.

The passing of the infrastructure bill has made the acquisition of charging stations more affordable for municipalities and other government entities, and the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act provides individuals incentive to invest in electronic vehicles. For agency and public use, an experienced partner can navigate the complex requirements, negotiate among various vendors and help maximize tax incentives. The future of EV is bright, and now is the time to invest in EV technology.

Barry Carr is director, business development- eMobility & Electrical Infrastructure for ABM. He has provided alternative fuel transportation consulting and support for more than 20 years. Carr joined ABM in June 2021. Prior to this, he held positions with Galileo Technologies, Trillium, Landi Renzo and ZEV Technologies. Carr holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and industrial management from Clarkson University.