FAQ

LEVEL 1

EV CHARGING

Level 1 EV Charging: works with 120 VAC, with a power range from 880 Watts (0.88 kilowatts, kW) to 1,920 kW (1.92 kW) and provides 3 to 6 range miles per hour connected. Level 1 EV chargers are supplied with Alternating Current (AC) and in turn provide AC power to the EV through a standard connector. 

Level 2 EV Charging: works with 208 to 240 VAC, meaning the power range is from 3.3 kW to 19.2 kW, and provides 16 to 80 range miles per hour connected.  Level 2 EV chargers are supplied with Alternating Current (AC) and in turn provide AC power to the EV through a standard connector. 

Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC): Devices that provide DC power to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) at various amperage levels and voltage levels, most commonly 480 VAC, with power outputs ranging between 25 and 175 kW of power.   Power levels up to 350 kW are now available.  DCFCs convert Alternating Current (AC) from facility power and output Direct Current (DC) and Volts Direct Current (VDC), which then delivers DC power to the BEV through a standard connector.  DCFCs are commonly referred to as Level 3 EV Chargers. 

LINK to Dept Energy search page

Alternative Fuel Data Center (AFDD) EV Charging Station Locator Site: Search and filter by charging level, connector type, state, zip code, private vs. public. Site provides all registered EV charging stations with address number of ports, contact info, directions, hours of operation and charging network.

Lists all registered ChargePoint stations. Search and filter by charging level, connector type, address. Site provides all listed EVSEs with address number of ports, directions, hours of operation, availability, and price. Waitlisting and reservations if available.

Lists all registered stations. Search and filter by charging level, connector type, address. Site provides all listed EVSEs with address number of ports, directions, and hours of operation..

LINK to Plugshare registered stations

Enter “EV Charing near me”

LINK

Electrifying the nation's Interstates: National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

LINK to NEVI document (PDF)

$5 billion NEVI Formula Program Provides dedicated funding to States to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure and establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability. Initially, funding under this program is directed to designated Alternative Fuel Corridors for electric vehicles to build out this national network, particularly along the Interstate Highway System. When the national network is fully built out, funding may be used on any public road or in other publicly accessible locations. Ten percent of the NEVI Formula Program will be set-aside each fiscal year for the Secretary of Transportation to provide discretionary grants to help fill gaps in the national network. A separate process for these “gap-filling” grants will be established in future guidance.  NEVI is considered a formula program, as each EV Charging station is required to include at least four (4) 150 kW DC Fast charging stations, within 1 mile of the highway. The grant will pay for 80% of the total installed cost. See LINK for more information.

Electricity is measured in two ways, based on 1) consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh) and 2) based on the peak power demand for a billing cycle, measured in kilowatts (kW). 

Single family homes often use average electricity pricing based only on consumption of energy in kWh, and payment is made on a monthly basis, in terms of the energy consumed. Consumption rates may be priced based on an average price rate (e.g., $0.12/kWh, 24/7) or vary dynamically by hour or by a segment of a day (e.g., Off peak: 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM @ $0.05/kWh, Peak demand @ 3:00 PM to 8:00PM @$0.25/kWh, etc.). These rates also may vary seasonally.

For larger facilities, the consumption of electricity is metered, but also the peak power demand is measured each month. Peak demand is represented as the greatest amount of power consumed in a short rolling time window (e.g., 15 minutes) during the course of a billing cycle. The figure to the left compares consumption and peak demand graphically. There are specific rate structures associated with peak demand. As more usage occurs in a building, the peak demand will necessarily increase and therefore the associated monthly fees are increased. These peak demand tariffs are not always linear and significant demand charges can be added to a facility’s bill, especially if multiple loads are present (e.g., EV charging plus air conditioning during consumption peak periods). 

LINK to program information

LINK to grant opportunities

The $2.5 billion discretionary grant program is further divided into two distinct $1.25 billion grant programs to support EV charger deployment. These discretionary grant programs will ensure charger deployment meets the Biden-Harris Administration priorities such as supporting rural charging, building resilient infrastructure, climate change, and increasing EV charging access in underserved and overburdened communities (disadvantaged communities).

• Corridor Charging Grant Program. This program will strategically deploy publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors.
• Community Charging Grant Program. This program will strategically deploy publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure in communities. 

Power sharing or load sharing is a term that applies to technologies used to manage how much power is provided to and from EV Supply Equipment (EVSE, commonly called EV charging systems), individual EVSEs, groups of EVSEs and/or EV charging outlets. Some systems also can control the time when EV charging events occur, through sequencing and prioritization logic. Power is controlled for each circuit by managing the amperage.  The control of the power may be from an EVSE, from an EVSE-independent dedicated load management system or a combination of the two. In each case, the methods employ Current Transformers (CTs) which measure current (amperes) so the allocation can be managed. 

The Acceptance Rate is the rate  at which power (kilowatts, kW) can be accepted by an electric vehicle (EVs) per hour.  For Level 2 EV Charging, Chevy Volts can only accept 3.3 kW and some Teslas can accept up to 19.2 kW.

For DC Fast Charging, the Chevy Bolt can accept 50 kW and the new Lucid Air can accept 350 kW.

The maximum rate of recharging, in range miles per hour connected is therefore constrained by the lesser of the output of an EV Charging station and the acceptance rate of the EV.

LINK for more information on EMPOWER

Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation:

The Illinois coalition for the Clean Cities Coalition Network, has introduced the EMPOWER program in the Midwest, developed specifically for educating interested parties on workplace charging. Green Ways 2Go is a designated partner for IACT. 

Make Ready Infrastructure is the same as Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: including electrical equipment including panels with circuit breakers, switchboards, transformers, conduit, wiring, junction boxes, conduit hangers and other interconnections necessary and integral to delivery electrical power from a facility for charging electric vehicles. 

The EV Charging world is changing rapidly. EVs are increasing in battery capacity and higher acceptance rates, meaning shorter refill times and greater distance between recharging. The cost of some passenger EVs are expected to equal similar gasoline vehicles by 2025. Whatever the initial price, an EV will cost 30% of the gasoline car to operate.

Federal and state policies and programs are rolling out aggressively, with plans to fund vehicles and EV charging through 2032.  The federal government is spending 7.5 billion to eliminate range anxiety for EV charging. The goal is to have a CD Fast charging station at least every 50 miles on all interstates across the country by 2028.

With a growing number of EVs, comes more EV Charging stations and a higher demand on the grid.

For EV charging projects in the near future, a need will grow to be able to use the energy in the vehicle’s battery, combined with locally generated power, such as solar. The term that may be used to optimize grid resources, leverage renewables and EV charging is called Beneficial Electrification. Some other terms that will be increasingly applied are s as follows:

• Distributed Energy Resources (DER) – includes a range of technologies that when integrated can reduce the power demand from the central utility generation, transmission, and distribution grid. This includes EVs and their batteries, EVSEs, stationary energy storage, renewable energy technologies, and technologies that manage the movement of electricity to and from these technologies and the grid.
• o Energy storage and management systems – this includes on-site stationary energy storage (e.g., batteries) and mobile energy storage (e.g., EV batteries). Batteries can be used to offset peak demand periods or provide for expanded facility capacity and can be combined with EVEMS to optimize a building’s power use.
• o Stationary energy storage systems can be tied to individual EVs or used for shared facility level energy storage. ZipCharge, SparkCharge Roadie are two examples of small-scale storage. These technologies bring the advantage of being portable, meaning they can be moved to a parking space. There are a growing number of facility-scale stationary storage systems than could be applied to offset peak demand charges and be used as power backup during power outages. These systems may be grid tied, allowing them to store energy during off-peak and consume during high peak periods.
• o Vehicle to “X” Solutions – An EV’s batteries can be tied into the utility grid through Vehicle to “X” (V2X) systems, including Vehicle to Grid (V2G), Vehicle to Home (V2H), etc., which manages the flow of electrons to and from an EV battery to the grid or the facility.
• On site renewable energy generation (e.g., solar) – having on site renewables can offset grid demand, can be used to fill battery storage, but does not affect the EVCI size.
• Smart Technologies – in order to manage the range of DER solutions, a number of smart technologies embedded in the controls of each technology and able to communicate via the Internet, and intranets, on smart devices and computers and the EVs and EVSEs.

The investment in EV charging infrastructure and EV charging stations can be significant. To recover costs will depend on the application.  To evaluated, these costs are totaled and then some common options to recover or allocate the costs are:

For dedicated EV charging

Allocate investments:

• Fairly to everyone who leverages the investments.
• To all participants equally / proportionately

For shared EV Charging:

The facility commonly pays for the full investment and recovers it over time through charging fees.

Third parties

May pay for the installations with a goal to recover costs over time.

For dedicated spaces, this decision is not typically based on a plan to quickly recover costs, but rather to install a convenient charging location.

EXAMPLE:

If an EV owner drives 12,000 miles per year, they can save about $1,000 per year in fuel. Typical Level 2 installation single port costs for dedicated EV charging range between $1,000 and $10,000.

For shared parking spaces, with reasonable utilization, the investment can be paid for in a few years.

EXAMPLE:

Assume you own a sharable EV charging station and pay $0.12/kWh.  If you assess a fee of $0.20 /kWh and a single Level 2 EV charger is used 8 hours per day, the annual revenue is $1,400.  Sharable EV chargers usually cost more than dedicated ones, as they are typically automated to be able to measure and bill for electricity.

Typical Level 2 installation costs for single port shared EV charging range between $7,000 and $17,000.

For DC Fast Charging, the costs go up dramatically. The total installed cost for a DC Fast Charger can easily reach $100,000. Therefore utilization rates become critical. DC Fast Chargers typically assess a fee at rates of $0.30 to $0.50 per kWh. To put this in perspective, to reach $100,000 in sales at $0.40/kWh would require 350,000 kWh of electricity sales.  Assuming a 100 kW power level, this would require 3,500 hours of charging.  For a single port, this would represent 40% of one year, or, if operational 12 hours per day, 80% of one year. 

Another scenario for EV Charging is to integrate advertising into the business model. Those participating in this market say they can make 5 to 10 times the revenue from electricity from ad revenues.

EV & Infrastructure Incentives & Programs

• VEHICLE GRANTS, REBATES & LOANS
• INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS, REBATES & LOANS
• CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS
• RELATED PROGRAMS

LINK to Incentives and related resources