Residents Asked to Participate in Survey on How to Expand and Improve Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Will Offer Webinars on April 13-14

Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is asking residents to participate in a survey on how the County could expand and improve charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). As part of the initiative, DEP will hold webinars on Thursday, April 13, and Friday, April 14, to share details about the planning process and collect more input.

Beginning in 2023, significant funding will be available from Maryland and the Federal government for local governments and private property owners to install EV charging. To take advantage of this opportunity and accelerate the transition to EV ownership, DEP is developing a plan to expand the availability of EV charging throughout the community.

The survey, which will be open through May 15, is available at Montgomery County Community EV Charging Survey (surveymonkey.com).

To join the April 13 webinar, which will start at 7 p.m., go to Meeting Registration - Zoom. To join the April 14 webinar, which will start at noon, go to Meeting Registration - Zoom.

DEP also has created the Charge Montgomery Story Map interactive tool to explore where EV charging is currently located, where EVs are registered and the factors that will drive new charging infrastructure.

“The County’s Climate Action Plan has a goal to transition to 100 percent zero emissions by 2035 and having residents, government operations and businesses transition to EVs is an important part of the plan,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “An important part of having people move to EVs is having charging station access. We are working to create opportunities to build charging stations, but we need to know how residents think we can help. Completing this survey will help in determining the decisions that will be made as we move forward.”

EVs charged in Montgomery County on Pepco’s electric grid reduce emissions by 70-75 percent, demonstrating that switching to an EV is one of the biggest ways to reduce the County’s carbon footprint.

The market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly, with plug-in vehicles making up more than 12 percent of newly registered vehicles in 2022. There are currently about 600 EV charging plugs in the County, including 100 “Fast Charging” plugs. However, more charging infrastructure is needed to meet the current demand and allow more residents to feel confident making the transition to electric vehicles. To overcome “range anxiety”—a fear of running out of battery—drivers need to know that they can easily charge their vehicle nearby to where they live, work and visit regularly.

Many new EV charging stations installed by the private sector will be located based on existing EV ownership patterns. However, the County’s Climate Action Plan aims to ensure that EV charging is distributed equitably across the County. This means proactively finding sites in the County’s Equity Focus Areas.

For more information on DEP’s actions in the move to EVs, go to https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/green/zev/index.html.

16 Multiple Electric Vehicle Charging Ports Added in County Parking Facilities, Bringing Total to 56 in County Garages and Parking Lots

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has added 16 electric vehicle charging ports in County garages over the last four months, increasing the total of electric vehicle (EV) charging ports to 56 for public use in County parking garages and parking lots.

Eight ports were added in the NOAA Garage (G58) in Silver Spring this month, four ports were added in the Cordell-St. Elmo Garage (G40) in Bethesda in December and four ports were installed in the Wheaton Market Place Garage (G13) in October.

MCDOT has eight more charging ports planned. Four will be installed in the Bethesda-Elm Garage (G57) later this winter and four ports have been ordered for the Cameron Street Garage (G7) in Silver Spring.

In 2022, Montgomery County reported 19,338 plug-in vehicles registered. Nearly one-third of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles registered in Maryland are located within Montgomery County.

“This is great news to start off the new year—our constituents having been requesting more charging ports and I am glad that we are starting to deliver,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Expanding access to charging stations will encourage more EV ownership. Besides increasing our public use ports, we are also allowing homeowners to apply for a right-of-way permit for their own curbside charging stations. We are moving in the right direction, but we need residents, businesses and policymakers to support these efforts. Combatting climate change requires actions by all of us.”

Since the County’s first public EV charging stations were installed in the Capital Crescent Garage in February 2015, MCDOT has continually worked to grow the number of charging stations in County owned public parking facilities.

“We are making progress, but we still have work to do to ensure EV charging is accessible,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “Transportation is the largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the County and personal vehicles make up the majority of these emissions. We are working to increase personal vehicle charging capacity to encourage EV ownership. This is an essential step to reach our aggressive County goal of zero emissions by 2035.”

EV charging ports are now available in the following County parking facilities within each of the three County maintained Parking Lot Districts (PLD):

• Bethesda: Woodmont Corner Garage (G11), Capital Crescent Garage (G31) Woodmont-Rugby Garage (G35), Auburn-Del Ray Garage (G36), Cordell-St.Elmo Garage (G40), Waverly Garage (G47) and Bethesda-Elm Garage (G57)
• Silver Spring: Bonifant-Dixon Garage (G5), Cameron-Second Garage (G7), Kennett Street Garage (G9), NOAA Garage (G58) Wayne Avenue Garage (G60) and Town Square Garage (G61); Bonifant and Easley Lot (L29)
• Wheaton: Wheaton Market Place Garage (G13) and Amherst Garage (G45)

Twelve of the new EV charging ports in the Silver Spring (G40) and Bethesda (G58) parking garages, and four ports coming to Silver Spring (G57), have been funded and provided by Pepco. The County has an easement agreement with Pepco to locate the stations within PLD facilities. The rest of the stations have been funded by the County.

In May 2020, MCDOT and the County’s Department of Permitting Services released residential area guidelines for installing electric vehicle charging stations. The guidelines regulate and provide for permitting the installation of privately owned car charging stations in garages, driveways and in the public right of way adjacent to County streets.

For a listing of Montgomery County EV charging stations in public parking garages and lots, visit https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-parking/ElectricVehicle.html.

In addition to the charging ports in the County garages, nearly 600 EV ports are available for public use, as listed on the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuel Data Center website. This includes 30 ports managed by the County’s Department of General Services at County-owned buildings, such as libraries.

Electric Vehicle Ownership Bringing a Charge to Montgomery

The electric vehicle market is growing rapidly in Montgomery County. As of June 2022, there were 16,618 plug-in vehicles registered in the County, with 10,939 of those full battery-electric vehicles. Over the past two years, the number of plug-in vehicles on the road has increased by 60 percent.

According to the Maryland Department of Education/Motor Vehicle Administration. over the last 12 months, more than nine percent of new vehicle registrations in the County are EVs.

This growth is welcome news for the County’s carbon emissions goals. The Climate Action Plan identified transitioning to electric vehicles as a key action for reducing emissions in the County – along with reducing driving overall with increased use of transit, walking and bicycling. With EVs only making up 1.5 percent of registered vehicles, there is a long way to go.

According to a Bloomberg News study of EV adoption around the world, once a market reaches 5 percent of new vehicle sales, demand starts to accelerate rapidly. The United States recently passed this milestone, and Montgomery County is ahead of the curve.

For mainstream adoption of electric vehicles to be possible, consumers need to feel confident they can recharge their vehicles when needed. There is good news on that front, as public charging stations in the County also has been growing rapidly over the last few years.

There are currently more than 500 public charging ports at more than 300 locations across the County, including 92 DC fast-charging ports. The locations of the charging stations can be found at Alternative Fuels Data Center. More than 200 ports were added in 2021, suggesting that charging infrastructure will continue to expand rapidly.

Montgomery County plans to add public charging stations at more than 60 additional sites over the next year, including at recreational centers, libraries and parks.

The County will continue to look for ways to help residents and businesses reduce transportation emissions, like the EV Purchasing Co-op and the Bikeways Program.