Clean Cities Coalitions: EV charging for multi-unit dwellings

Although PEV adoption is accelerating nationwide, apartment and condominium residents face difficulties in access to plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations, a problem that Clean Cities Coalitions plan to ameliorate.

There are many barriers to installing curbside residential and multi-unit dwelling (MUD) charging stations such as capital cost, available electrical service and the logistics of selecting parking spaces. A diverse project team is partnering to identify and break down the barriers. The Vehicle Charging Innovations for Multi-Unit Dwelling (VCI-MUD) project is a three-year project with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office that began in 2019.

The Center for Sustainable Energy, which hosts the San Diego Regional Clean Cities Coalition, leads a nation-wide team of project partners including 13 Clean Cities coalitions, Energetics, Forth, Idaho National Laboratory, the National Association of State Energy Officials, state and
local government agencies, MUD property owners, electric utilities and charging technology
providers.

Together, the project team will engage stakeholders to document barriers to MUD and residential curbside PEV charging, gather utilization data from existing MUD and residential curbside charging stations, demonstrate innovative technologies that address barriers, compile project findings in an easy-to-use toolkit and disseminate the toolkit across national, regional, state and local channels.

“Bringing together leaders from such a broad range of interests to focus on the challenges associated with PEVs for multi-unit dwelling residents, owners and managers will help ensure not only the future success of PEVs but also contribute to cleaner air and less dependence on imported oil,” Wisconsin Clean Cities Executive Director Lorrie Lisek said. “This is truly a project where everyone wins and Wisconsin Clean Cities is proud to be a part of it.”

Data from the pilot demonstrations will be collected, analyzed and compared to the baseline data. The partners will use the project findings to develop a VCI-MUD Toolkit containing all the information needed to evaluate and implement innovative, cost-effective and flexibly-expandable charging solutions for MUD managers. The Toolkit will include an installation roadmap and downselection tool to help MUD owners navigate the process of selecting and installing PEV charging stations. This will accelerate MUD properties’ adoption of PEV charging stations to serve current residents and attract future PEV driving community members.

VCI-MUD project manager, John Livermore, said “Our team is excited to demonstrate how multi-family developers can use innovative approaches to minimize costs and maximize the number of residents that can access charging stations. The project pilots will include technology that eases the administrative burden for property managers, enables multiple vehicles to use a single charging station, and integrates charging stations with the electrical grid.”

The VCI-MUD partners are currently collecting baseline MUD and residential curbside charging
station utilization data and developing an innovative technology demonstration plan. Any
organization interested in providing historical charging station utilization data and/or participating in a demonstration project is encouraged to contact a participating Clean Cities Coalition or Russell Owens at Energetics at (410) 953-6211 or rowens@energetics.com to learn more.

VCI-MUD Project Participating Clean Cities Coalitions

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