In May 2015, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District released a call for projects for the “Charge!” grant program. “Charge!” is an incentive program that offers grant funding for the installation of electric vehicle supply equipment (“EVSE”), or electric vehicle charging stations, within Bay Area transportation corridors, workplaces, multi-family dwelling units (“MDUs”) and trip destination locations.
Applications are currently being accepted and the deadline is 4:00 PM, Friday December 18, 2015, unless funds are exhausted sooner. This program is funded through the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (“TFCA”) Regional Fund which provides grants to improve air-quality within the nine-county Bay Area by reducing criteria emissions from on-road vehicles. The goal of the “Charge!” Program is to rapidly expand access to Plug-In Electric Vehicle (“PEV”) charging stations in order to accelerate the Bay Area’s adoption of PEVs and ultimately to achieve the region's PEV deployment targets of 110,000 PEVs by 2020 and 247,000 PEVs by 2025. An initial allocation of $5 million in TFCA funding is available through the “Charge!” Program and funding will be awarded to qualifying projects on a first-come, first-served basis. Both public and private entities are eligible to apply for funding. In addition, the Air District Board of Directors has authorized higher funding amounts for projects that are coupled with renewable energy (e.g., wind or solar) and battery storage. The maximum grant amount is based on the type of EVSE equipment.
Electric Vehicle Charger Demonstration: The Electric Vehicle (“EV”) Charging Station Demonstration Program (“Program”) is open and applications are currently being accepted. The deadline to apply is 4:00 PM, Thursday, October 8, 2015. This is a competitive grant solicitation, and the Air District anticipates funding between two and five projects.
The Program will provide up to 90% of total eligible costs for the installation of new, publicly-available EV charging stations along major transportation corridors, at workplaces, and at key destinations. Funds for this project will be awarded through a competitive grant application process whereby applicants who request lower grant amounts per ton of emissions reduced will be scored higher. In addition, the Program prioritizes projects that are “shovel-ready,” incorporate renewable energy, help to expand the region’s charging network, and are located in Air District designated Community Air Risk Evaluation (“CARE”) Program areas.
Proposed Project: The County Public Works (“PWD”) and Conservation and Development (“DCD”) Departments are collaborating on the grant applications and proposed project. The project consists of installing EVSE at their respective facilities (255 Glacier Ave. and 30 Muir Rd.) that would be accessible by employees and members of the public. Installing EVSE at County buildings will contribute to the overall Bay Area’s adoption of PEVs and ultimately help achieve the region's PEV deployment goals of 110,000 PEVs by 2020 and 247,000 PEVs by 2025.
These programs provide incentive funding on a reimbursement basis after all station equipment has been placed into service and all expenses have been incurred and documented. Therefore, applicants must demonstrate that they have adequate funds from a non-Air District source to cover all stages of their proposed project(s) from commencement through the end of their project’s life. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that they have available and are ready to commit all necessary matching funds from a non-Air District source of funding. Site retrofits would likely be necessary to install EVSE. The cost to install EVSE at the proposed sites is to be covered by funding from the departments and should not exceed $30,000 per Electric Vehicle Charging Station on preliminary estimates. Maximum award amounts for “Charge!” and the Electric Vehicle Charging Station Demonstration Program are $6,000 and $11,000 per Level 2 charger, respectively. One project cannot be funded by both programs.
The County will not be able to receive grant funds for the installation of electric vehicle service equipment.