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Empower Procurement: E-Fleet Technical Assistance

Partners
• City of Watsonville, CA, California Energy Commission, Contra Costa Community College District

Duration
• 2018–2023
• 5-year project

Project Highlights

• Project management

• Total Cost of Ownership Assessment

• Technology Review

• Stakeholder Engagement

The California Energy Commission funded Prospect Silicon Valley to lead the Empower Procurement Project. Empower Procurement evaluated public agency procurement barriers to distributed energy resource adoption. As part of the Empower Procurement project, Prospect Silicon Valley is leading knowledge transfer and technical assistance efforts for fleet and building electrification.  These activities help identify and address technical, logistical, financial, and human resource challenges to fleet electrification efforts.

ProspectSV designed and delivered Decarbonization Technical Assistance for Fleet and Building Electrification/Decarbonization to 30 public institutions (cities, counties, and school districts) across California, including assisting Denee Evans of the City of Richmond. Funded by the California Energy Commission, our work was aimed at helping these institutions establish the basis for pursuing cohesive decarbonization programs, addressing areas where they face challenges with staffing and resources to effectively plan and implement efforts. Our assistance was designed to help institutions gain valuable insight and a path forward with fleet and building projects, with an eye toward clear asset inventories, rational project development, and a long-term financial outlook and highest ROI on carbon emissions reduction. For fleet managers, we gathered critical information about their fleet vehicles, as well as electrical and other physical infrastructure to support an analysis of EVSE needs. Where possible, we identified short-term priorities for vehicle replacement, provided total cost of ownership analyses for equivalent EV options, and provided a high-level cost assessment for EV transition factoring in available incentives and rebates. We also provided lifecycle GHG reductions for transitioning the vehicles. These actions provided the basis for a phased procurement process that aligned with the recipients’ long-term goals, including target vehicle replacements, EVSE, and infrastructure needs/upgrades. We provided guidance on evaluating and purchasing vehicles and charging options moving forward.