Motion Digest Network

The Obama Administration has announced a series of actions from the Federal government, private sector, and states, as well as a new framework for collaboration for vehicle manufacturers, electric utilities, electric vehicle charging companies, and states, all geared towards accelerating the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and putting more electric vehicles on the road.

Among the actions announced are:

*Unlocking up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees and inviting applications to support the commercial-scale deployment of innovative electric vehicle charging facilities;

*Launching the FAST Act process to identify zero emission and alternative fuel corridors, including for electric vehicle charging across the country, and standing up an effort to develop a 2020 vision for a national network of electric vehicle fast charging stations that will help determine where along the corridors it makes the most sense to locate the fast charging infrastructure;

*Announcing a call for state, county, and municipal governments to partner with the Federal government to procure electric vehicle fleets at a discounted value;

*Leveraging the power of data and hosting an Electric Vehicle Hackathon to discover insights and develop new solutions for electric vehicle charging;

Publishing a guide to Federal funding, financing, and technical assistance for electric vehicles and charging stations; and

*35 new businesses, non-profits, universities, and utilities signing on to DOE’s Workplace Charging Challenge and committing to provide electric vehicle charging access for their workforce.

Charging infrastructure financing:

Loan Guarantees and Inviting Applications to Support Innovative Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities: The DOE’s Loan Program Office (LPO) issued a supplement to its Title XVII Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy (REEE) Projects Solicitation, clarifying that certain electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities—including associated hardware and software—is now an eligible technology under the solicitation.

The solicitation can provide up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees to support innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the United States. Loan guarantees can be an important tool to commercialize innovative technologies because these projects may be unable to obtain full commercial financing due to the perceived risks associated with technology that has never been deployed at commercial scale in the United States.

Details at http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/07/20160721-obama.html