Introduction
On October 4, 2017, the Governors of a number of western states signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) to lay the foundation for work on a regional electric vehicle (“EV”) infrastructure development plan called the Regional Electric Vehicle Plan for the West (“REV West Plan”). The MOU was initially entered by Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and New Mexico, and later Arizona. [1] The MOU calls for the participating states to work cooperatively to establish policies that will support the development of EV charging stations along 11 major transportation corridors that link their states together, spanning a total of 5,000 miles.[2] The MOU mainly focuses on interstate highway infrastructure including East-West Interstate 10, 40, 70 76, 80, 84, 86, 90, 94 and North-South Interstates 15 and 25.
The signatories to the MOU anticipate a future with much higher levels of EV usage. To support this greater EV usage, the MOU calls for efforts by the states to:
- Coordinate station locations, thereby maximizing use and minimizing inconsistency across charging station infrastructure;
- Develop practices and procedures that will encourage more people to adopt EVs, including addressing “range anxiety”;
- Develop operating standards for charging station uniformity;
- Explore ways to incorporate EV charging stations in the planning and development processes;
- Encourage automakers to stock a variety of EVs in participating states; and
- Collaborate on funding and finding opportunities for the network.[3]