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VEIC presents state and municipal options for electric vehicle charging and funding
Summary
VEIC consultant Dave Robers briefed CCRPC’s PAC on Vermont’s EV goals, NEVI funding priorities and municipal planning considerations for EV charging, including code changes, program grants, and examples of potential charging hosts.
Dave Robers (VEIC, managing consultant) told the Planning Advisory Committee that Vermont is planning for a full shift to passenger vehicle electrification by 2035, and he offered municipal-scale guidance on charging infrastructure and funding. "The state is planning for a 100% shift to passenger vehicle electrification by 2035," Robers said, and he noted projected vehicle counts of roughly 27,000 by 2025 and 126,000 by 2030.
Robers explained that municipalities can support electrification through clear definitions in bylaws, streamlined permitting for EV charging equipment and by allowing public charging generally as an accessory use to parking lots rather than treating it as a standalone fueling station. He discussed building-energy-code developments that will incrementally require more EV charging (including clarifications about multi-family housing definitions), and he acknowledged concerns from affordable-housing advocates about compliance costs.
On funding and site selection, Robers summarized the state NEVI plan to establish charging along interstates and major highways and noted that most current NEVI and Volkswagen Diesel Settlement funds will go to the 15 priority areas identified in that plan. A new NEVI grant with a $500,000 minimum is available for additional charging infrastructure, he said. At the municipal level, Robers recommended prioritizing school and municipal facilities, multi-unit housing, employment centers and locations serving low-income or racially diverse populations. He identified some private hosts and sites considering chargers, including Maplefields in St. Albans and locations in Derby, Newport and St. Johnsbury, and he explained why interstate rest areas face restrictions on commercial activity and fast-charging installations.
Robers and CCRPC staff also discussed the commission’s decision not to pursue an FHWA discretionary grant because CCRPC currently lacks an EVSE installation plan; staff said the commission could support municipalities in creating such plans through next year’s UPWP.
