How to prepare for federal fleet electrification requirements
In December 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14057, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.”
Under this order, the federal government must now lead by example to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.
Federal agencies with a fleet of 20 vehicles or more are required to develop a strategy for achieving 100% zero-emissions light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027 and 100% zero-emissions vehicles of all types (light-, medium- and heavy-duty) by 2035.
Federal fleet to achieve 100% zero-emissions by 2035
The order further stipulates that agencies must implement the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure needed to support their zero-emission fleet. Agency leads must also provide annual progress metrics that map to these and other new sustainability requirements.
Fortunately, networked EV charging solutions allow agencies to track and measure sustainability metrics, making it easier for them to stick to their objectives and fulfill reporting requirements.
The good news is that EVs offer lower fuel and maintenance costs, produce fewer emissions and result in higher driver satisfaction. Thanks to recent legislation aimed at providing funding to spur the transition to electric transportation, it's a great time for federal agencies to make the shift without disrupting existing fleet operations.
In a comparison of New York City's electric, hybrid and gas-powered fleet vehicles, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services learned that fleet operators experience 25% lower total cost of ownership after converting their vehicles to electric, thanks to greater overall efficiency, more affordable fueling and operating costs, and reduced maintenance.
In fact, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, electric motors convert over 85% of electrical energy into motion compared with less than 40% for an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, and according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, some electric fleet vehicles produce 50% lower emissions than equivalent gas-powered vehicles.
Some electric fleet vehicles produce 50% lower emissions than equivalent gas-powered vehicles.
The U.S. government operates the largest civilian fleet in the world with more than 656,000 vehicles as reported in the May 2022 Federal Fleet Report.
According to the 2022 BloombergNEF Long-Term EV Outlook report, makers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks are targeting between 35% and 60% of their annual sales to be zero-emissions and primarily all-electric by 2030. BNEF predicts that the share of zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty trucks on the road will be 15% by 2030 and 35% by 2040.
This level of growth offers expanded opportunities for federal agencies to convert their fleet for a variety of purposes in a way that does not disrupt existing fleet operations.
Federal fleet inventory
U.S. Postal Service: over 234,000 vehicles
Other civilian agencies: over 241,000 vehicles
Military: over 181,000 vehicles
If you're tasked with transitioning your federal fleet to electric, it's important to think strategically about your needs today as well as tomorrow before you start to plug in vehicles.
As a federal agency, your broad reason to electrify your fleet is to achieve 100% zero-emissions by 2035, as per the 2021 executive order. You may also be looking at ways to reduce overall operating costs across your fleet operations. Outlining your specific goals upfront will help frame all aspects of your fleet electrification project.
Identify the specific objectives you'll work toward along your electrification journey. For example, you might start with a pilot program to convert 100 vehicles to electric the first year and then scale incrementally over time to convert the rest of your fleet. Maybe you'll focus on light-duty trucks first or perhaps your fleet of sedans.
Depending on your fleet, you may need infrastructure for agency employee charging of passenger vehicles or fleet depot charging for light- and medium-duty vans and trucks, or both. Start by getting an EV infrastructure site assessment specifically for fleets, and be sure to involve building managers and your local utility right from the start.
Find out whether your site has any electrical constraints. Some older buildings may have structural limitations or other obstacles to making electrical upgrades. Consider your daily vehicle flow. Do you need to keep your fleet charged up around the clock? Or will your fleet always be parked overnight?
Electrifying a large fleet may take time. Consider not only what your needs are today, but what you think you'll need in the future as your EV charging program expands. It's much more cost-effective to get adequate infrastructure in place at the beginning than to find out you need to add more down the road.
Think carefully about how to set up charging so that parking can accommodate both EVs and ICE vehicles during your transition.
Knowing your user group and their charging habits will help steer you toward the appropriate EV charging solution.
Think of every use case and consider how long drivers will be parked and what type of vehicle they will be driving.
Getting your electrical infrastructure and charging hardware in place is only the first step. You'll also need tools to help you manage your EV charging program. Having a solution that can integrate with existing fleet management and telematics systems
is crucial, since your transition to electric is likely to roll out in stages.
Networked charging solutions enable you to control who has access to chargers when and to share power among charging stations to help keep fueling costs down. A flexible, interoperable solution will keep legacy systems running while you make the transition to electric and provide integrated dashboards to track energy usage, GHG emissions and other metrics.
Read on to learn more about how to set up EV charging infrastructure using a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) and discover how ChargePoint and our partners can help.
