Electric vehicle charging infrastructure to get a $50 million boost in Massachusetts

GreenerU’s support for the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council helped create an initial assessment with recommendations to improve the chances of finding a working charger across the state—be it along the curb, in dense urban areas, at an apartment or condominium, or in rural communities.

As of 2023, there were 66,000 electric vehicles registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

By 2030, the state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan anticipates that number to be 900,000—a nearly 14-fold increase—with implications not only for the amount of additional electricity utility companies will need to generate, but for the availability and reliability of electric-vehicle charging infrastructure statewide.

To tackle these challenges, the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council (EVICC), authorized by Massachusetts’ 2022 Climate Law, was established to implement an electric vehicle charging infrastructure deployment plan. The Climate Law requires that the EVICC assess and report on strategies and plans necessary to deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure to establish an equitable, interconnected, accessible and reliable electric vehicle charging network. Plans and strategies needed to include charging infrastructure in public and private locations in urban, suburban, and rural locations, best options for low- to moderate-income communities, technological advances, maintenance, and much more.

Following the election of Governor Maura Healey in November 2022, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) got to work implementing the work of the EVICC with the help of GreenerU to facilitate the process, conduct research, and provide writing, reporting, and graphic design services.

Range anxiety is real—and so is charge anxiety

Electric vehicle owners are proud people. Those who tend to drive EVs will tell you about the benefits—the significantly lower maintenance costs, the lack of tailpipe emissions, the quiet ride. But ask anyone who takes their EV on a road trip and you’ll hear all about range anxiety.

Range anxiety is the driver’s fear that a vehicle has insufficient energy storage to cover the road distance needed to reach its intended destination. Electric vehicles do their best to predict the amount of charge available on the car’s battery and will display that number on the dashboard, but any of a number of factors could influence the actual amount. Just like downloading high-resolution images or videos on your phone can drain its battery, driving in colder temperatures, using heating and air conditioning, highway driving, and driving uphill are just a few ways your battery can drain faster than you might expect.

Now add charge anxiety to the mix. In a gas-powered vehicle, most of us are aware of when it’s time to hit a gas station and spend five minutes refueling. With an EV, you not only need to plan on spending anywhere between 30 minutes to 12 hours charging your battery; you need to locate a working charging station—sometimes late at night, while you’re driving on an interstate, without a passenger to assist with navigation. And once that battery dies, you can’t ask a friend to bring a gallon of gas to you.

Challenges of charging infrastructure

The EVICC began hosting multiple public meetings in May 2023, first offering up a series of presentations to outline the challenges of charging infrastructure across the Commonwealth. Some of these challenges included the following:

• Limited options for “garage orphans,” i.e., individuals who lack access to off-street parking
• Lack of charging infrastructure availability in low-density rural communities
• Unreliable public chargers
• Lack of charging price/kWh transparency

Members of the EVICC—which included representation from the EEA, the Executive Office of Economic Development, Department of Public Utilities, Department of Energy Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation, and more—presented or heard from experts in the field, utilities, and analysts who shared data and findings on these and numerous other issues. GreenerU gathered together a comprehensive dataset and pulled together supplemental research that ultimately contributed to the initial assessment, which the team co-wrote, designed, and illustrated.

The EVICC and its solutions

A number of newer technologies are coming onto the electric vehicle scene, which the EVICC discusses in depth in its initial assessment to the legislature (published August 11, 2023). To manage that charge anxiety, the report recommends on-demand (mobile) electric vehicle charging, which enables EV drivers to charge their vehicles using a portable or mobile charging system. “By bringing charging to the EV, drivers can charge their cars in areas where EV charging infrastructure is limited or non-existent, providing a convenient alternative,” reads the assessment.

Another up-and-coming solution is curbside charging. These capabilities enable charging infrastructure to be either pole-mounted via a street lamp or utility pole with an arm that extends downward to plug in. Another option is running a cable across a sidewalk with an ADA-compliant ramp to cover the cord.

Other solutions include promoting and supporting electric car-sharing programs and EV charging infrastructure in urban areas for car-hire services (such as Lyft and Uber), as well as using electric vehicles as mobile battery storage.

One significant recommendation, which could greatly improve the reliability of charging stations, is for the Division of Standards (DOS) under the Executive Office of Economic Development to “develop new regulations to ensure that publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers are registered, inspected, and tested to improve uptime.” The DOS will also develop new regulations that apply consumer protections to electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including, but not limited to, “signage and price disclosure requirements; protections against price gouging; standardized connection equipment; and limiting the sale of consumer data collected.”

Funding

Fortunately, Massachusetts has dedicated a significant amount of funding to the electric vehicle transition. Not only does the state supplement the federal MOR-EV rebate program for electric vehicle buyers, including additional benefits for income-eligible consumers; the state has an additional $400 million in funds to improve EV charging infrastructure via utility rebates. (You can read more about that here.)

Another benefit the state will receive is $60 million in federal funding via the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Deployment Plan to support the construction and operation of direct-current fast charging (DCFC, a.k.a. Level 3) stations along major highway corridors as designated by the Federal Highway Administration.

Finally, the EEA has recently formulated plans to deploy $50 million in support of efforts directly associated with the work of EVICC, including:

• $12.5 million to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to assist cities and towns with curbside charging efforts
• $9.5 million to MassCEC to add chargers for commercial medium-size and heavy-duty trucks and vans
• $8 million for chargers for Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers

As the Commonwealth continues to pave the way for electric vehicle deployment and decarbonizes the transportation sector, GreenerU will continue to support this transition behind the scenes. Moreover, with more of our clients exploring the possibility of hosting EV charging infrastructure of their own, we are here to help not only investigate available incentives, but engineer and install that infrastructure, too. Because climate anxiety is also real, and GreenerU is on a mission to do something about it.

We can help make sure your installation of electric vehicle charging stations goes smoothly, meets your organizations needs, reduce your charge anxiety, and takes advantage of all available incentives. Contact us to get started on your options today.

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