As electric vehicles become a vital part of the transportation landscape, it is crucial to ensure that communities are equipped to effectively implement electric vehicle infrastructure. For communities with fewer resources, especially those that are smaller and rural, additional support is essential to ensure they have the capacity to develop this infrastructure.
In many cases, the most important action a community can take to attract electric vehicle charging infrastructure investment is updating their zoning ordinances and streamlining permitting processes. Charging Smart, a technical assistance and recognition program, provides a road map for communities to complete these efforts. The program aims to support and empower communities to advance transportation electrification in a way that benefits all.
Charging Smart is offered free of cost to communities of all types and sizes, thanks to the ongoing support of the US Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. The program is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), with GPI serving as lead partner. We also work closely with a group of public and industry entities to build and implement the program, which is now expanding nationwide.
Overcoming barriers to electric vehicle infrastructure in rural communities
Smaller, rural Charging Smart participating communities have demonstrated great achievements in expanding their electric vehicle infrastructure. For example, St. James, a small community in southwest Minnesota, created a checklist that makes the permitting process and requirements transparent for installers.
Similarly, La Crescent, Minnesota, a community near the Wisconsin border in the southeastern part of the state, updated its zoning ordinance to include requirements for installing electric vehicle charging stations in new development and ensured that a portion of the installed stations would meet accessibility standards.
Well-written ordinances and clear permitting expectations pave the way for private investment in charging infrastructure within a community and help to reduce the time it takes to move from the inception to the installation of a charging project.
Working extensively with smaller, rural communities as part of the Charging Smart program, we’ve found that while they are eager to implement electric vehicle infrastructure, many face challenges related to limited staff capacity and technical expertise.
Some rural and capacity-constrained communities navigate this with the help of on-call contractors, interns, and/or Green Corps and AmeriCorps members. However, these resources are limited and often subject to processes and funding that are outside the community’s control.
Additional support from General Motors
The GPI team is dedicated to finding additional ways to overcome these barriers. We are grateful for the generous support from General Motors to explore three potential solutions.
These solutions will follow the best practices set forth in the Charging Smart framework.
Enabling the GPI team to provide additional technical assistance
The Charging Smart program enables GPI to provide participants with a vast number of resources and a combination of cohort-based and 1:1 technical assistance. In many cases, this is more than enough to help communities navigate the program and make meaningful progress on transportation electrification.
However, rural, capacity-constrained, and disadvantaged communities may need more time or assistance to undertake the program’s actions.
GPI has carefully developed in-house expertise and a strategic partnership with the Electrification Coalition to help with developing custom road maps for effective charging in each community, fleet-focused charging planning and analysis, zoning amendment review, and more.
Partnering with universities to offer the support of a collegiate fellow
Even with access to free and robust technical assistance, some communities still need more capacity to take action.
To help meet this need, GPI is working with Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute to create a fellowship position allowing a student to work directly with one to three communities on Charging Smart-related tasks.
The tasks include compiling memos on the community’s zoning ordinance, developing a charging infrastructure permitting checklist, developing an electric vehicle vision statement, coordinating meetings with local electric utilities, or planning ride and drives.
Creating planning grants
Some of the actions recommended through Charging Smart benefit from the input and guidance of subject matter experts who can dedicate time and effort to seeing them through to completion.
With that in mind, GPI is now developing a process in which small planning grants could be awarded to the on-call consultants that communities already work with or an external firm(s) to take on discrete tasks related to transportation electrification.
Examples could include developing a zoning ordinance, drafting electric vehicle language in a sustainability plan, or completing an analysis of charging needs.
Looking ahead
GPI has already engaged over 150 communities throughout the development, pilot, and initial implementation phases of Charging Smart, which included helping 11 communities in Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio earn the first Charging Smart designations in the country.
Our story map tells the full story of this work and highlights some of the wonderful community-led achievements that Charging Smart is designed to celebrate.
Thanks to the generous funding support from General Motors, GPI looks forward to piloting the above-described supplemental technical assistance options with disadvantaged communities in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and regions in Illinois beginning in 2025.
This work will directly support the communities in these states, create opportunities for GPI to continue this work, and enable communities to collaborate with their neighbors.
Additionally, the outcomes of this pilot could help improve the Charging Smart program through the full-scale deployment of supplemental technical assistance offerings for disadvantaged communities and rural America nationwide—work that depends on continued funding to achieve its potential.
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