Good afternoon - please seen the information below from NRECA on EV Funding Program developments.

Michelle Hershel
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Florida Electric Cooperatives Assoc.
2916 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL  32301
Cell:  (850) 510-1693
(850)877-6166, ext. 3

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From: Crawford, Stephanie <Stephanie.Crawford@nreca.coop>
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 1:43 PM
To: COOPERATIVE-EV@ConnectedCommunity.org
Subject: EV Funding Program Developments

Good afternoon:

Today the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Energy released new information pertaining to the $5B National EV Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program and the forthcoming $2.5B Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, both funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law.

  1.  DOT Minimum Standards:  DOT released the final rule on the regulations setting minimum standards and requirements for projects funded under the NEVI Formula Program and projects for the construction of publicly accessible EV chargers under certain statutory authorities, including any EV charging infrastructure project funded with Federal funds that is treated as a project on a Federal aid highway. The final rule is available here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/nevi/resources/ev_charging_min_std_rule_fr.pdf
  2.  DOT Buy America Waiver for EV Chargers: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is establishing a temporary public interest waiver to waive Buy America requirements for steel, iron, manufactured products, and construction materials in electric vehicle (EV) chargers. This short-term, temporary waiver enables EV charger acquisition and installation to immediately proceed while also ensuring the application of Buy America to EV chargers by the phasing out of the waiver over time. On the effective date of this waiver, it will apply to all EV chargers manufactured by July 1, 2024, whose final assembly occurs in the United States, and whose installation has begun by October 1, 2024. The waiver can be found here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/cqit/buyam/BuyAmerica_FederalRegister.pdf
  3.  DOT Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program ($2.5B over five years): As you may recall, half the funding for the program will be disbursed via a corridor program that will focus on continuing to deploy chargers along Alternative Fuel Corridors and half the funding will be dedicated to community charging. DOT announced it will be making $700 million in grants under this program available shortly.  More details can be found here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/charging.cfm
  4.  DOE Notices of Intent: DOE also announced upcoming funding opportunities to address challenges to achieving equitable clean transportation by seeking to address improving the charging experience for EV drivers and expanding charging infrastructure into underserved communities. Anticipated topic areas include:
     *   Enhancing EV Charging Resiliency
     *   Community-Driven EV Charging Deployment Benefits Planning, Implementation, and Tracking in Underserved Communities
     *   Workforce Development
     *   Increasing Commercial Capacity for Testing and Certification of High-Power EV Chargers
     *   Validating High-Power EV Charger Real-World Performance and Reliability

More details are to come regarding some of these high level announcements today, but the final rule on minimum requirements and standards and the Buy America waiver becoming available mean the NEVI program is really going to move into implementation now. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Thanks,
Stephanie

Stephanie Crawford
Regulatory Affairs Director | National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203
o: 703.907.5732   m: 571.623.4049
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