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The EV industry is facing the classic scenario of putting the cart before the horse. Why? Because the adoption of electric vehicles is growing faster than the rollout of the EV infrastructure needed to charge them. The combined 2023 sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the United States represented 16.3% of total new light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales — up significantly from 12.9% in 2022. Fleet owners are turning toward EVs as well, doubling their battery-electric truck, van, and bus deployments in 2023 over the previous year.
But what about the horse, the power behind the proverbial cart? Simply put, EV infrastructure is not keeping pace. “While deliveries were strong, charging infrastructure challenges persist, with long lead times, increased costs, and more,” says FleetOwner Senior Editor Jade Brasher.
More and more stakeholders are choosing to go electric or choosing to provide charging for others, but most do not know where to start or the right questions to ask. Accordingly, roadmap planning for EV charging is crucial for staying ahead in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle landscape.
By strategically outlining infrastructure development requirements, power expansion needs, cost-effectiveness goals, and smart grid technology, you can ensure seamless adoption, meet growing demand, and drive sustainable mobility into the future.
Here are four key considerations before you charge out of the gate in the exciting EV race. For a deeper dive, a Schneider Electric EValuate consultant can work with you to ensure you can successfully transition your fleet from gas/diesel to electric horsepower.
1. Technical feasibility
Whether you’re adding EV charging stations for your operational fleets (e.g., public transportation, logistics) or for your customers or employees (e.g., retail locations, convenience stores, and offices), a feasibility study is the first step. Do you have the right power equipment to support the installation? How fast do you want the chargers to be? What are your facility’s operation shifts and breaks to operate and charge EVs? Do you have additional power capacity? Do you need to install a new utility service entrance?
Don’t let these questions fog your EV vision. An EValuate consultant can help—whether you need a feasibility analysis or a detailed engineering evaluation. In any case, understanding your site’s current capacity is one thing; understanding future needs is another. It’s important to plan for your immediate EV charging needs while building out future-ready infrastructure.
One of the pressing challenges we see across all feasibility evaluations is power capacity. There are three main scenarios to consider when it comes to installing EV chargers on a site:
- Your site has enough power capacity. Great! You’re good to go.
- Your site has limited power capacity at present but there is utility power available for your increased capacity needs. Then your power infrastructure may need to be upgraded.
- Your site has limited capacity and can’t get future capacity from the utility. Then it’s time to consider other options to support EV charging infrastructure to support your growing fleet.
The second scenario often can be managed by upgrading the power infrastructure equipment needed to support the addition of new electric loads. For instance, infrastructure upgrades to the utility service entrance, switchgear, transformers, and switchboards can modernize your power infrastructure for an EV-first fleet. An EValuate consultant can help you partner with your utility to address this scenario.
The third scenario is about more than the power infrastructure. You need additional power capacity as well. If this is the case, you might consider a microgrid and distributed energy resource (DER) implementation to support your robust charging infrastructure now and in the future. An EValuate consultant can help you identify and address potential challenges and risks associated with EV infrastructure implementation.
2. Sustainability and resiliency targets
Another common driver for integrating EV charger infrastructure is sustainability. Do you have sustainability targets or mandates to meet? How can EV charging infrastructure help you meet your sustainability goals? For example, think about Scope 2 emissions, which are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity. A sustainability-focused EV charging infrastructure can contribute to lowering emissions if the electricity used for charging comes from low-carbon or renewable sources. This approach can help your company reduce their overall carbon output and contribute to sustainability goals.
The impact is good not only for the environment; it’s good for your brand as well. Social and environmental considerations heavily influence consumer decision making. In fact, “67% of consumers are looking to purchase sustainable products.” The adoption of more sustainable transportation and logistics practices can be significant contributors to a brand’s sustainability outcomes.
Montgomery County, Maryland, is a model for meeting sustainability targets. It is shifting from diesel public buses to electric ones, rolling out 70 EV buses in phase one of deploying a Schneider Electric microgrid to power its municipal Brookville Bus Depot EV charging station. The EV infrastructure provides the County with on-site renewable energy generation and battery energy storage solutions that will avoid 160K tons of CO2 over the 25-year project. This project also advances the County’s goal of reducing carbon emissions 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2035. Montgomery County also is developing an Equipment Maintenance & Transit Operation Center microgrid to power all the depot’s energy needs, including five existing buildings.
3. Financial feasibility
Of course, the rubber hits the road when it comes to cost. A cost analysis of installing EV charging infrastructure can help by providing a comparison between the increase in your energy cost vs. savings from greater fleet electrification. EValuate can perform a total cost of ownership, too, including specific expectations of revenue from installing the chargers.
For example, a major hospitality and entertainment company sought our EValuate consultants to assess the integration of EV chargers and the required infrastructure upgrades at 13 of their sites on the Las Vegas strip. Our consultants provided a thorough breakdown of the financial feasibility for multiple-charger quantity scenarios, which included budgetary pricing and cashflow models for CapEx and financed procurement as well as installation options. In addition, design narratives were developed for each site; these included a capacity analysis and the required electrical gear upgrades to implement the EV charger solutions.
To aid in the analysis, we developed EV charger load profiles for each site and charger quantity assessments to determine the impact to annual energy consumption and cost of electricity. The financial analysis evaluated various revenue generation streams, including tiered customer charge rates ($/kWh), as well as weekday and weekend reservation fees. Our EValuate consultants equipped the hospitality and entertainment company with the information they needed to fully understand the financial feasibility of the EV charging technology investment, enabling them to deliver a best-in-class experience to service their guests.
4. Incentives and rebates
While the cost of deploying EV charging infrastructure may send you running the other way, keep in mind that there are many local, state, and federal grants and incentives available to assist with your EV infrastructure plan. An EValuate consultant can discuss specific opportunities to help counteract the cost of preliminary engineering design work and installation costs.
One example is the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program Funds (NEVI), which provides funding to states “to strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.” Take note: funding is available for up to 80% of eligible project costs. These savings can be significant.
Another such program is the Clean School Bus Program from the Environmental Protection Agency. It provides $5 billion over five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission buses.
Leap forward with robust EV charging infrastructure
Implementing EV charging infrastructure is imperative for leaping ahead in the transition to sustainable transportation. Don’t be daunted by the four key considerations: site feasibility planning, sustainability metrics, cost analysis, and applying for incentives and rebates. Instead, enlist an EValuate consultant. Think of your EValuate partner as the jockey you need to help you put your EV horse before the cart. Doing so will help you win the EV race — for your benefit and for the greater good of the planet.
About the author
Guruprasad Ramani,
Senior Systems Architect, Data Centers
Guru Ramani is an IEEE Senior Member with over 15 years of experience including engineering design of microgrids and data centers, substation automation and power system studies including short circuit, arc flash, time current co-ordination, motor starting analysis and transient studies. He is currently serving as the Technical lead for the Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center(EMTOC) project, which is the Nation’s Largest Renewable Energy Powered Transit Depot and First on the East Coast to Feature On-Site Green Hydrogen Production. With a multi-national experience, Guru’s experience is rooted in power system distribution and automation.
About the author
Mackenzie Eldridge,
Power Systems Segment Lead – E-mobility Infrastructure
Mackenzie Eldridge is the Power Systems eMobility Infrastructure Segment Lead. In her role, she configures and implements power distribution equipment and digital solutions to support electric vehicle charging, distributed energy resource integration, and more. Since joining Schneider Electric, she has also had the opportunity to work in Business Development and Project Management for eMobility, and as a Power Systems Engineer with Schneider Electric’s low and medium voltage hardware.
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