The Electric Vehicle and Photovoltaic Power Purchase …

1 1 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook The Electric Vehicle and Photovoltaic Power Purchase handbook : A toolkit for developing Electric Vehicle and rooftop solar group Purchase programs 2 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook Table of Contents Table of Contents .. 2 Executive summary .. 3 What is an EV group Purchase program? .. 4 Do these programs actually spur sales of more EVs? .. 5 Why should my community support EVs? .. 6 How expensive is it to run a group Purchase program? .. 7 Who can offer a group Purchase program? Does it have to be a local government? .. 8 Why would a dealer or automobile manufacturer participate in the program? 8 How large are the discounts? .. 8 What customers are eligible to participate? .. 10 Should we include solar? .. 10 Does the program need an outside administrator?.

2 11 What is the RFP process for EV providers? .. 11 What is the RFP process for solar installers?.. 13 How long should we offer the program?.. 13 Does it matter what time of year we run the program? .. 14 What are the likely demographics of program participants? .. 14 Who does the outreach? .. 14 What types of outreach should we conduct? .. 15 How do we collect data and evaluate program success? .. 16 Conclusion .. 16 Acknowledgements .. 16 Appendix 1 Sample Language for an EV Group Purchase RFP .. 18 Appendix 2 Sample Language for a Solar Group Purchase RFP .. 23 Appendix 3 Sample Outreach Materials .. 33 3 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook Executive summary Recently, a number of communities have piloted a new idea: Electric Vehicle (EV) group Purchase programs that provide a limited-time opportunity for residents to get discounts on purchasing an Electric Vehicle .

3 These programs are modeled after successful solar Power group Purchase programs, which dozens of communities have adopted since the first program was pioneered in Portland, Oregon, in 2010. In 2015, three EV group Purchase programs piloted in Colorado and Utah: one in the Fort Collins/Loveland area, led by Drive Electric Northern Colorado; one in the Salt Lake City area, led by the University of Utah in partnership with Utah Clean Energy; and a joint solar and EV program in the Boulder/Denver area, led by Boulder County. These programs have been remarkably successful. In each case, the programs have led to dramatic increases in EV sales up to 300 percent community wide. In addition, the Boulder program led to more than 140 people installing nearly 750 kilowatts (kW) of solar Power on their homes. These programs are advantageous because the private sector provides the financial incentives, so the cost to local governments or agencies that administer the programs is very low.

4 To illustrate just how much impact these programs can have, one participating dealer in Boulder County sold 5 percent of all Nissan LEAFs purchased in the United States during the period of September December 2015. The following chart compares sales in the same months of 2014 and 2015 in the two areas of Colorado where these programs piloted in 2015. While EVs and rooftop solar systems offer many benefits to both the community and individual buyers, they are still an unfamiliar technology to many people. A group Purchase program can serve as a very effective tool: 1) to help your constituents understand that EVs available today are affordable, comfortable, and able to meet consumers needs for many types of trips; and 2) to inform them that home solar systems can reduce emissions and 05010015020025020142015 Northern ColoradoBoulder County 4 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook save consumers money.

5 Thus, starting a group Purchase program may be one of the most effective methods for spurring your local EV and solar markets. This tool kit is designed to lead you through the basic steps necessary to create a successful group Purchase program in your community. Because solar group Purchase programs have been around much longer, there are more resources available, so this tool kit primarily will focus on EV group Purchase programs, while providing some information on joint solar and EV programs. An additional resource for solar programs is The Solarize Guidebook: A community guide to collective purchasing of residential PV systems, published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. What is an EV group Purchase program? The basic idea behind an EV group Purchase program is that a local agency negotiates a discounted price from one or more EV dealers or car companies.

6 This deal is then available for a limited time to members of a group, whether they are employees of a company or residents of a community. The agency then agrees to take the lead in outreach and marketing for this deal. The key elements of an EV group Purchase program include the following: Discounted prices on EVs, possi bly i n com bi nati on wit h chargi ng infrastructure and sol ar panels The lead agency conducts a competitive bid process to get the best possible prices on buying or leasing selected models of EVs. The selected car dealers and manufacturers then provide discounts or rebates for program participants. Limited-ti me offer Having a discrete time limit motivates customers to act now while the deal is still in place. This is particularly important in the EV marketplace, where some potential buyers have a tendency to wait for newer technology to come out.

7 The limited-time offer helps spur them to act now, helping achieve market transformation. Com munity-base d out reac h and marketing One of the biggest barriers to EV adoption is simply the lack of awareness that EVs are available and affordable. Trusted voices in the community ( , local governments, air quality agencies, neighborhood groups, or trusted nonprofit organizations) can communicate the value of EVs. Broadcasting an affordable deal from a group Purchase program can move many people to action. 5 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook Happy new Nissan LEAF owner Michelle Krezek points to her new EV, purchased through the Boulder County group Purchase program. Do these programs actually spur sales of more EVs? Yes. Most of the early pilots have had significant success in increasing EV sales. In Boulder County, sales of Nissan LEAFs went up by 230 percent from 52 LEAFs in the county in the last four months of 2014, to 173 in the last four months of 2015.

8 In Northern Colorado, the program saw a nearly 300 percent increase in the sales of LEAFs from 15 in the last two months of 2014 to 59 in the last two months of 2015. One concern might be that these programs simply draw customers who would have purchased another EV whether or not the program existed. Group Purchase programs, however, influence people who were not planning to Purchase an EV to reconsider. In fact, results from a survey of participants in the largest EV program revealed that 72 percent of the respondents had not originally been planning on buying an EV, as the chart below shows. The survey also showed that more than 90 percent of people who entered the process and did not actually buy a Vehicle are now interested in buying an EV in the future. 6 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook Why should my community support EVs?

9 EVs can bring many benefits to your community. Because EVs have no tailpipe emissions, they can greatly improve air quality and public health. As Colorado shifts toward more renewable energy in its electricity generation, these air quality benefits will grow over time. For example, in the Denver metropolitan and North Front Range areas, where our state is struggling to meet federal ozone standards, the emissions of ozone precursors from EVs are much lower than those from gasoline vehicles. The chart below shows the percentage reduction in the two major ozone precursors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and for carbon monoxide (CO) and greenhouse gases (GHGs) for an EV in this part of Colorado compared to a gasoline Vehicle based on both the 2013 and 2020 electricity mixes1. 2013 2020 VOCs NOx CO GHGs And, of course, for customers who Power their cars through solar electricity, the vehicles are closer to zero emissions.

10 1 Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, 2013, Air Quality Benefits of Electric Vehicles in the Denver Metro and North Front Range Area: 28%42%30%Already considering anEVWas not thinking ofbuying a new carAlready considering anew car 7 EV AND PV Power Purchase handbook If your community has climate goals or a climate action plan, EV adoption is important in reducing GHG emissions from transportation. In addition, EVs bring some real economic advantages to our communities. Even with gas costing only $2 per gallon, EVs are cheaper to operate, with $500 or more in annual fuel savings money that consumers will likely recycle into purchases in your community. In addition, there are state and federal tax credits for EVs, which together can add up to $13,500.