Electric Vehicles
As the electric vehicle charging network gets built out, increasing numbers of Chester County residents are turning to electric vehicles for their transportation needs. Municipalities can accelerate and support this transition to electric vehicles by planning for and supporting new electric vehicle charging stations where charging would be most convenient, whether through proactively developing charging infrastructure or by adopting supportive ordinance requirements.
New to Electic Vehicles? Start here!
PECO Electric Vehicles
PECO's Electric Vehicle (EV) page includes essential electric vehicle information, a checklist for assessing if your home and business are EV ready, information on charging and the associated rates, and how to register your vehicle for a rebate.
PA DEP Electric Vehicles
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection page on Electric Vehicles provides information on alternative fuels incentive grants, benefits of electric vehicles, a roadmap to increase electric vehicle use in Pennsylvania, and a fact sheet providing essential information about electric vehicles. The Amped: EV Webinar Series includes recorded webinars describing the basics and benefits of electric vehicles for residents, local governments, businesses, and fleet managers as well as an FAQ about driving electric vehicles.
U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center
This website provides a wide array of information on hybrid and electric vehicles including available tax credits and a calculator that allows you to compare fuel cost and emissions with a conventional vehicle.
Planning for Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicle eTool
This Chester County Planning Commission eTool provides a quick overview of electric vehicle information, benefits, considerations, and resources.
DVRPC Electric Vehicle Resource Kit
The Electric Vehicle Resource Kit is managed and updated to provide reliable and accurate information and answer new questions as they arise. The overall intent of the resource kit is to help answer the question "What should my municipality do about electric vehicles?" and is written with municipal managers in mind. The information may also be useful to businesses, fleet managers, and potential electric vehicle owners.
DVRPC Electric Vehicle Mapping
These interactive maps plot distributions of existing and projected Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) locations and workplace charging throughout the DVRPC region, as well as all of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This mapping is helpful in understanding where the demand for new charging stations will be and assisting with sensible distribution between charging stations.
PennDOT's Electric Vehicle Registrations in Pennsylvania
PennDOT maintains a webmap depicting total electric vehicle registration by zipcode across the state. This information can help municipalities plan for charging by understanding the prevalence of electric vehicle ownership in their area.
Geospatial Energy Mapper
The GEM tool, or Geospatial Energy Mapper, maps suitable areas for electric vehicle charging based on corridors, population density, land cover, proximity to other EV charging stations, and other factors.
Example and Model Ordinances
PennDOT's EV Model Ordinance Toolkit
PennDOT, in collaboration with Temple University, produced model ordinance guidance for regulating the installation of EV charging stations in off-street parking lots.
West Whiteland Township Zoning Ordinance
Section 325-33 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: These regulations address proposed private commercial and noncommercial charging stations and public use charging stations. The ordinance references the National Electric Code, "Electric Vehicle Charging and Supply Equipment Systems" for installation requirements.
Phoenixville Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
Section 22-417.7 of Vehicular Parking (Subsection 7 Electric Vehicle Parking): The standards included "Electric Vehicle Make-Ready Standards" which requires land developments meeting specific criteria to provide for the future installation of EV parking and charging stations. This requirement includes new one or two family residential structures and townhouses with garages. Requirements are also included for EV parking spaces for parking areas above a certain size. Signage, safety, and other standards are also addressed.
West Chester Borough Zoning and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinances
Zoning Section 112.603 of Parking Space Requirements and SLDO Section 97.28 of the Parking requirements: West Chester Borough's SLDO ordinance requiring the installation of EV-ready and EV-Installed parking spaces in new construction (Section 97.28.F), and Zoning Ordinance requiring new single family and two family dwellings and new garages be EV-ready.
Funding for Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure
The transportation sector accounted for 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the US in 2021, which closely mirrors emissions sources in Chester County. As such, there is significant funding for transportation decarbonization projects, including electric vehicle purchase and charging station installations.
Resources for Individuals
- Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection has alternative fuel rebates for consumers. Eligibility requirements, how to apply for rebates, and the level of rebate based on type of vehicle are explained.
- Clean Vehicle Tax Credit — All-electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles purchased new in 2023, or after, may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500.
- Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property credit — This federal tax credit provides a credit of 30% of the cost of installing a level 2 charger, up to $1000.
- PECO provides rebates of $50 to residential customers who purchase a new, qualified EV.
Resources for Businesses, Organizations, and Fleets
- PECO Public Benefit Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Pilot — Both Level 2 and DCFC chargers are eligible and projects can receive rebates for 50% of the total eligible project costs, up to $60,000 per customer.
- Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property credit — This federal tax credit provides a credit of 6%-30%, up to 100,000 per property, for the installation of EV charging stations.
- PA DEP Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant provides funding for the purchase of alternative fuel and zero emissions vehicles, refueling and charging stations, and demonstration projects. Two rounds of funding are usually administered each year.
- Businesses and tax-exempt organizations that buy a qualified commercial clean vehicle may qualify for a clean vehicle tax credit of up to $40,000.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency administers several programs geared toward heavy duty vehicle electrification, including as well as a clean school bus grant and rebate program.
- National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program provides up to 80% of the funding for new publicly accessible DC fast charging stations along specified corridors to build out the national charging network.
- The Federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant program provides funding to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other alternative fueling infrastructure on public roads, schools, parks, and in publicly accessible parking facilities.