How to get ready and find funding for EV fleets

Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on the viability and logistics of President Biden’s executive order calling for most federal vehicle purchases to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. I thought there were some interesting applications for states and local governments with similar commitments…then proceeded to go down the electric vehicle (EV) rabbit hole. This week’s newsletter goes over the questions I had and the answers I found.

The cost and logistics of transitioning to a green fleet

The GAO report does what I hope most state and local governments are also doing when it comes to the EV transition: it estimates how quickly the government will have to move to transition its light-duty fleet and considers the other costs and practicality in doing so. Biden’s executive order extends to 2035 for all vehicle types, but for light duty cars (smaller SUVs and sedans), it mandates a full transition by 2027.

That affects approximately 380,000 vehicles, according to the GAO, which estimates that agencies will have to buy 30,000 more cars per year to meet the mandate. EV sales in the U.S. are way up—more than 400,000 sold during the first half of this year—but that target is still pretty ambitious. (On the plus side, the Inflation Reduction Act makes billions in grants available for EV production.)

The General Services Administration (GSA) has estimated that the federal government may need to install more than 100,000 charging ports (assuming overnight charging and one charging port for every two electric vehicles acquired).

Doing the math: Overnight (level 2) chargers tend to be cheaper than the fast chargers you’ll find at most roadside stations, so assuming the cost is around $1,500 each, that translates to an additional $150 million for the green fleet charging infrastructure. Given that maintenance costs alone for light-duty EVs are 40% less than for their gas-powered counterparts, the feds should recoup that upfront payment in a couple years.

Bottom line, electric vehicles are still cheaper in the long run but governments need to chart their green transition and then plan for all the associated costs. 

The important thing for states and locals to take away from the GAO analysis is that they plan out their transition so the needed infrastructure is already in place AND fits in with how their vehicles are already being used.

• Most government vehicles travel fewer than 30 miles a day, according to the GAO, so overnight charging is practical. 

• But for county and state vehicles in more spread out areas, workers may have to account for midday charging, requiring access to a public charging station. 

• Same issue for transport vehicles: Cobb County, Georgia, for example, just bought the nation’s first electric van designed for prisoner transport which can travel approximately 170 miles on a full battery charge.

• The ICMA says geography is also a factor: “Companies like Mack Truck and Peterbilt are introducing fully electric refuse trucks, which is great for Los Angeles, but are not feasible in Pittsburgh—the trucks are not powerful enough to handle the city’s uniquely steep hills.”

Federal funding for the EV transition

Naturally, I got curious about how state and local governments can use federal money for some of these upfront costs. Except where otherwise noted, these programs are from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.