New government program funds alternative fuel infrastructure
Funding available for service stations, convenience stores and car washes
The Government of Canada is putting more buzz into the country’s zero-emission infrastructure with a new program (launched February 2020) that puts cash in the hands of facility site developers.
Run by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Initiative is a $182.5 million program designed to support the establishment of a coast-to-coast charging network for electric vehicles, natural gas stations along key freight corridors and stations for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in metropolitan centres.
The program will also support the demonstration of next-generation charging technologies as well as host the development of binational (Canada and the United States) codes and standards for low-carbon vehicles and infrastructure.
The program is available to individuals and legal entities that are incorporated or registered in Canada and include both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. These include a range of groups such as utilities, indigenous and community groups, provincial and municipal departments and agencies as well as private businesses such as service stations, convenience stores and car washes.
Eligible projects include permanent installations serving on-road vehicles that increase current capacity. Sites must be open to the public at all times for EV (Electric Vehicle) fast-chargers and as appropriate for natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations and offer at least one payment option free of any network membership requirement.
Sites must be completed 18 months after the receipt of the Letter of Conditional Approval for EV fast chargers and two years after the receipt of the Letter of Conditional Approval for natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations. Applicants must demonstrate at least 50% of secured funding of their share of the project costs; demonstrate that they engaged with the energy supplier where the project will be built and own the land, have access to the land for at least ten years or demonstrate that they can obtain the access to the site for at least ten years where the project will be built.
What’s available under the program? NRCan’s repayable contribution through this program will be limited to a maximum of $5 million per project. For EV fast chargers, the program will pay up to 50% of the total project costs to a maximum of $50,000 per charging unit. For natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations, the program will pay up to 50% of the total project costs to a maximum of $1 million per refuelling station.
EV fast charger projects located in British Columbia and selected for funding under NRCan’s initiative are automatically eligible for non-repayable provincial funding. The B.C. Clean Energy Vehicle Public Fast Charging Program is funding 25% of the total project costs up to a maximum of $25,000 per EV fast chargers.
For more information visit www.nrcan.gc.ca