City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MAY 2, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: RYAN FREED, CLIMATE ACTION OFFICER
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Consideration of Approval to Enter into an Agreement to Provide In-Kind Cost Share for an Awarded Grant to the U.S. Department of Energy’s FY 2021 Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement.
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ISSUE: Participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s FY 2021 Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment grant and providing $20,000 of in-kind cost share to contribute to the 20% project cost share requirements.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Commit to providing the in-kind cost share of $20,000 between May 2023 and October 2025, consisting of City staff labor; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to i) execute an agreement with Forth to participate in its grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and ii) execute any necessary agreements with the DOE in support of the awarded grant.
BACKGROUND: The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy released their FY21 Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement in April 2021. The City was one of ten local government partners invited by Forth, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association, to join their project team for the Leadership of Employers for Electrification Program (LEEP) project, which DOE awarded to Forth in August 2022. The City would contribute $20,000 of in-kind cost share, primarily through City staff labor (i.e., from the Electric Vehicle Planner in the Office of Climate Action), to contribute to the grant’s 20% cost share requirements for the $4,000,000 project.
DISCUSSION: The LEEP project’s objectives include developing and executing a nationwide workplace charging program comprised of education, outreach, and technical assistance activities that enables a large-scale increase in workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging.
Project goals include gaining ≥ 2,500 employer commitments with the end goal of catalyzing ≥ 20,000 electric vehicle support equipment (EVSE) port installations.
The City of Alexandria is one of ten local government partners from across the country named in the grant to help meet the project goals. Other project partners include electric utilities, Clean Cities Coalitions, and industry representatives. The City will conduct outreach and provide technical assistance to workplaces in the City interested in planning for and implementing workplace charging projects. Participation in this project will advance the implementation of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Readiness Strategy (EVRS), by providing the City direct access to resources and technical assistance by the Forth team. Throughout this project, staff will also evaluate options for developing a workplace charging program for City employees.
To support this effort, the City would contribute $20,000 of in-kind cost share, consisting of the City’s Electric Vehicle Planner’s labor hours, across the duration of the project (estimated to be May 2023 to October 2025).
FISCAL IMPACT: The City would contribute $20,000 of in-kind cost share, consisting of the City’s Electric Vehicle Planner’s labor hours, across the duration of the project (estimated to be May 2023 to October 2025) to contribute to the 20% project cost share requirements for the $4,000,000 project.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Shawn Lassiter, Assistant City Attorney
Julian Gonsalves, Assistant City Manager
Amy Posner, Electric Vehicle Planner, Office of Climate Action