On the Road Again? State Issues Electric Vehicle Roadmap

As we all long for a time when we can once again traverse the state, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued its Electric Vehicle Roadmap for Connecticut (EV Roadmap).

The extensive 104-page report is described as a comprehensive strategy for achieving widespread deployment of electric vehicles in the state, and a key tool in the state’s effort to improve air quality for residents while also addressing the climate crisis.

While much progress has been made in cleaning our air since the first Earth Day five decades ago, when we’re not in the midst of a stay-at-home order (which has contributed to clearing the air), Connecticut still suffers from some of the worst air quality in the country.  That is especially along heavily-traveled transportation corridors where criteria air pollutants are most densely concentrated. When regular travel resumes, higher levels of pollutants are also expected to return.

In Connecticut, the transportation sector is responsible for 38.1 percent of economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and more than 66 percent of nitrogen oxides, a harmful component of smog and other hazardous air pollutants. The Governor’s Council on Climate Change has identified transportation electrification via wide-scale EV deployment to be among the primary solutions for achieving the state’s mandatory economy-wide GHG reduction targets of 45 percent and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2030 and 2050, respectively.

Wide-scale EV deployment will correspondingly drive reductions in harmful criteria pollutants from the transportation sector, according to the department, and help the state meet federal health-based air quality standards, and mitigate communities’ exposure to mobile air source toxics. 

“The health of Connecticut residents and the future of our climate requires continued progress towards cleaner air and a cleaner transportation system.  Advancing electric vehicles is an important component of a clean transportation future, and the EV Roadmap provides a strategy toward achieving that goal over the coming decade,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said recently, in announcing the EV Roadmap.

Officials point out that achieving widespread EV deployment will require policies and regulatory tools aimed at addressing myriad aspects of the goal, including transportation equity, purchasing incentives, consumer education, charging infrastructure expansion, consumer protection, integration of EVs into the electric grid, utility investment, and rate design.

“Bringing an entire industry online is a huge undertaking that touches a host of different policy areas and requires an inclusive and equitable approach and extensive stakeholder engagement,” Vicki Hackett, DEEP’s Deputy Commissioner of Energy, said. “It’s a wide-angle initiative that needs an incremental outline of how to go forward, and that’s what the EV Roadmap provides.”

The EV Roadmap focuses in on several key areas, including the transitioning of public and private fleets and medium and heavy-duty vehicles to EVs; making the consumer charging experience more consistent; minimizing grid impacts through demand reduction measures; providing demand charge relief for charging station owners and EV fleet operators; exploring opportunities for pilot programs with local innovators in the EV field; working with the state and municipal governments to modify building codes and permitting requirements to support EV infrastructure deployment; and leveraging financial incentives, such as the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR), to help make EV purchase price less of a barrier to consumers.

The formal release was timed to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, although the focus on the unfolding coronavirus muted many of the planned events and announcements in late April.

Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph J. Giulietti said that the DOT, a critical partner of DEEP’s in the effort to achieve widespread EV deployment in the state, understands the impact such a shift in the state’s transportation system could have.

"At the Connecticut Department of Transportation, we know the critical role that changes to our transportation system play in reducing carbon emissions and harmful air pollution,” Giulietti said. “To help in the fight, we are working closely with DEEP to jump-start our move to battery/electric buses in our CTTransit fleet, while also partnering on how we can expand the number of EV Fast Chargers along our interstate highway system.”

Giulietti added that “We also continue to promote and invest in people-powered 'active transportation,' by including bicycle and pedestrian elements in our road and bridge projects, and through our wildly popular Community Connectivity Grant Program.”

As one of several states signing onto the Zero-Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding (ZEV MOU), Connecticut has committed to an ambitious EV adoption goal of putting between 125,000 – 150,000 EVs on the road by 2025.

To date, there are nearly 2.4 million light-duty passenger cars and trucks registered in Connecticut. Annual sales of new light-duty vehicles in Connecticut fluctuate each year from roughly 150,000 – 180,000, and EVs account for only 2 percent of annual sales. As of December 31, 2019, there were 11,677 EVs registered in Connecticut.

One of the focus areas of the EV Roadmap is scaling up electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) such as charging stations in order to encourage higher EV penetration rates. “Range anxiety,” or fear that an EV will run out of power before a destination is reached, will diminish as consumers become more confident in charging accessibility, officials predicted.  

There are 376 publicly-accessible EV charging stations with a total of 966 charging connectors in the state, including 50 direct current fast charger (DCFC) locations with 212 charging connectors. A significant increase in workplace Level 2 charging connectors, public Level 2 charging connectors, and public DCFC connectors will be critical to supplement residential charging and meet future charging demands. 

Officials indicated that DEEP will continue to monitor the COVID crisis and consider its impact on the long-term goals outlined in the EV Roadmap.