EnviroSpark Energy Solutions co-founders present testimony to lawmakers forward of the 2023 legislative session
ATLANTA, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In testimony earlier than the Georgia Joint Study Committee on the Electrification of Transportation, electrical car (EV) charging firm EnviroSpark urged state lawmakers to think about the long-range influence on business progress for any regulatory adjustments. Company founders, Aaron Luque and Stephanie Luque, additionally supplied counsel on the right way to place Georgia as a number one state in EV innovation.
Georgia is already often called the guts of the Southeastern “Battery Belt,” with important investments from EV maker Rivian close to Atlanta, SK Battery America in Commerce and Hyundai Motors exterior Savannah. EnviroSpark supplied legislative testimony as the one Georgia-based EV startup to seem earlier than lawmakers.
Founder and CEO Aaron Luque offered to lawmakers a holistic view of how EV charging stations transfer from preliminary idea to first cost and past.
Mr. Luque advised the Joint Study Committee that whereas each challenge is exclusive, even the most important firms and smallest companies ceaselessly share the identical considerations when deciding the place and the right way to set up EV charging stations.
“What’s really interesting in having worked with the largest electric vehicle manufacturers and utilities in the country, all the way down to the rural EMCs and local municipal governments, small businesses and large chains — and everyone in between — is that while needs are nuanced from customer to customer, we do hear the same questions,” mentioned Mr. Luque.
Because of the overlapping considerations, Mr. Luque testified that adjustments to Georgia’s present EV set up legal guidelines might have a right away influence on business progress.
Co-founder and Chief Government Affairs Officer Stephanie Luque added that the location choice of EV charging stations can have a broad influence on the economy.
“We know that EV charging stations drive business, revenue and tourism to these site hosts, so specifically with the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, it’s important to ensure that Georgia’s economic development goals are aligned with how these sites are selected,” Mrs. Luque mentioned on the listening to. She urged lawmakers to think about coverage steerage that ensures locally-owned small companies in rural areas aren’t overlooked of this historic infrastructure alternative.
The NEVI Formula Program requires that EV charging stations be non-proprietary and permit for open-access fee strategies, be publicly accessible or accessible to approved industrial motor automobiles. Additionally, the NEVI program requires funds to be invested inside one journey mile of designated EV corridors, with charging stations not more than 50 miles aside.
Mrs. Luque urged lawmakers to exceed the federal minimal necessities, when doable, to future-proof Georgia’s funding in its EV infrastructure.
“A policy consideration here is that while we’re aware of the NEVI minimum requirements of one site every 50 miles within one mile of the interstate, there is an opportunity to consider exceeding those minimum requirements along hurricane evacuation routes,” she advised Georgia lawmakers. “We should also take into consideration potential supply chain issues and plan now so we are not trying to add stations down the road while dealing with increased demand between other states.”
Mr. Luque additionally urged legislators to search for methods to standardize allowing necessities for the set up of EV charging stations. Improved standardization might propel Georgia forward of different states within the progress of its EV infrastructure.
“I think it’s important to consider standardizing some of these permit and licensing requirements needed to install EV chargers,” Mr. Luque mentioned. “I had to learn every single trade. I learned carpentry. I learned roofing framework. I learned the ADA code to build a residential house. This was all done just to get the general contracting license to pull a permit to pour a concrete pad.”
But Luque believes that whereas building necessities must be standardized, there must also be minimal necessities to put in EV charging stations.
“I joke about this, but it’s basically true — I turned in a charging station design for one jurisdiction on the back of an Applebee’s napkin and they accepted it,” Mr. Luque mentioned as a warning to lawmakers. “So, you don’t want to go too far the other way.”
EnviroSpark was lately awarded a federal authorities contract to design and set up EV charging stations at areas run by federal businesses all through the Southeast area of the United States. The $500 million finances for the challenge comes from General Services Administration (GSA) as half of a bigger nationwide effort to develop EV infrastructure.
EnviroSpark was not solely the top-ranked small business vendor within the area, which incorporates 13 states and Puerto Rico, however was additionally the one chosen vendor that obtained an general technical rating of “excellent.”
The expertise gained since opening for business in 2014, together with the latest GSA choice, supplied the premise for Mr. and Mrs. Luque’s testimony.
“Our primary objective has always been to promote EV adoption by making charging more accessible,” mentioned EnviroSpark co-founder and CEO Aaron Luque. “We’re really excited to be a resource, to get engaged in the conversation and be helpful in tackling some of these challenges that we face as a state with regards to electrification.”
EnviroSpark is a values-driven firm and is devoted to increasing EV accessibility and rising adoption nationwide by constructing dependable, fast-charge stations in handy areas.
To date, EnviroSpark has been answerable for the design, provision and building of greater than 5,800 EV charging stations throughout North America.
About EnviroSpark
Founded in 2014, EnviroSpark is an trade chief within the turnkey design, set up and operation of EV charging options. The firm was based with two missions: to lift consciousness of the advantages of electrical automobiles and to extend the provision of EV charging infrastructure. The firm is answerable for the set up of greater than 5,800 charging stations to this point. EnviroSpark addresses the ache factors of property homeowners and drivers from coast-to-coast by enhancing EV accessibility in a customer-friendly approach.
SOURCE EnviroSpark
