Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Fleet Type: Large Municipal
Narrative
During the course of the Drive Electric Virginia project, Virginia Clean Cities (VCC) provided technical assistance to Lori Herrick, Sustainability Director with the City of Virginia Beach and her team on preparing a Request for Procurement for electric vehicle charging stations. VCC also worked with National Fire Protection Association to provide a no-cost training workshop to Virginia Beach Fire and Rescue staff members on how to prepare and respond to electric vehicle accidents and emergencies.
In 2020, the City of Virginia Beach sought assistance with developing a RFP for EVSE vendors to provide fleet and community EV charging at their city-owned parking garages. The City was experiencing difficulties in getting qualified bids and responses from vendors. VCC provided technical assistance in drafting and reviewing the City’s RFP. VCC also provided technical assistance to Virginia Beach’s consultant, CADMUS Group, on the fleet electrification process by participating in working groups and reviewing and providing recommendations on the final report. On April 12, 2023 VCC and NFPA presented a workshop to Virginia Beach Fire and Rescue staff on electric vehicle safety and risk management. VCC and NFPA answered questions from Fire and Rescue first responders.
Outputs & Outcomes
Two major outputs resulted from this event – a) the City now has a procurement process for acquiring EVSE and EVs b) the City now has a fleet electrification plan that will empower them to remove internal combustion engine vehicles from their fleet and replace them with EVs. c) the City’s first responders are better informed to safely handle electric vehicle accidents.
Best Practices & Lessons Learned
- Local government procurement rules and regulations need to be fully understood to assess the limitations of designing an RFP for EVSE. Identifying similar successful RFPs to utilize as a model is a good first step.
- First responders are generally knowledgeable about EVs so do not assume they are coming to this topic cold.
- A large municipal fleet with over 1000 vehicles requires substantial data entry and analysis. Quality control of data is crucial to providing a valuable analysis.
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