RFP EM-010-2024: DC Fast Charging Stations – Maine Phase 6

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

RFP EM-010-2024 - Efficiency Maine

The Efficiency Maine Trust (the Trust) seeks qualified bidders to install and operate DC Fast Chargers (DCFC) for electric vehicles (EVs) along select “Alternative Fuel Corridors” in Maine. This solicitation will use funds dedicated to EV charging infrastructure from the National Electric...

www.efficiencymaine.com

Maine Phase 6, the 2nd round of NEVI-funded locations now has an RFP.
Proposals will be due January 16th 2024.

The locations for this round are:

Alternative Fuel Corridor	Segment or Location		Approximate Number of Sites
Interstate 295 (I-295)/US Route 1/US Route 1A	#1	Portland	1
Interstate 95 (I-95) #2 From Pittsfield to Newport 1	#2	From Pittsfield to Newport	1
	#3	Hermon	1
US Route 2	#4	From Rumford to Dixfield	1
US Route 302	#5	North Windham	1
	#6	From Fryeburg to Bridgton	1

US Route 2 in Western Maine is a section that had been significantly lacking for CCS so awesome for me.

1 location in Portland would be good as currently EA is just in Scarborough so there's a scattering of CCS. Maybe Tesla can bid to upgrade its Hannaford location.

The request for 2 locations between Augusta and Bangor is interesting. Certainly one will help, because if you're going to take I-395 and ME-9 to Calais, the pending NEVI Bangor location is out of the way (and sucks in general in my opinion). The Hermon location could take of that.
I think a PIttsfield location would be good as it's on the fastest route to Greenville, at the south end of Moosehead Lake. Newport is a more natural location, however and either would help anyone who wants a nicer drive toward Katahdin.
(Augusta will be coming for heading up US-201).

Bumping North Windham, currently at the Hannaford will help US-302, as will the 2nd section between Fryeburg and Bridgton.

Summary: improving charging in Western Maine, filling in I-95 up to Bangor and improving Portland charging.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The locations for this round were updated 10/23:

Alternative Fuel Corridor	Segment or Location		Approximate Number of Sites
Interstate 295 (I-295) and US Route 1A	#1	From Exit 5/5A to Exit 8 and US Route 1A in Portland	1
Interstate 95 (I-95)	#2	From Exit 138 in Clinton to Exit 157 in Newport	1
	#3 and #4	From Exit 180 in Hampden to Exit 187 in Bangor	2
US Route 2	#5	From Rumford to Dixfield	1
US Route 302	#6	North Windham	1
	#7	From Fryeburg to Bridgton	1

- Change #1 to be I-295 and US-1A and specify the exit ranges instead of just saying Portland. US-1 and I-295 are concurrent in this area so no need to specify US-1. Exit 5/5A is first I-295 Portland exit at Congress St/Fore River Parkway and Exit 8 is Washington Ave/Baxter Boulevard. US-1A form a loop that goes to the Old Port between Exits 5 and 7, being Fore River Parkway, Commercial St, Franklin St.
- Change Hermon to 2 Bangor Locations. Exit 180 is the Coldbrook Rd exit with Dysart's Truck Stop, and Exit 187 is Hogan Rd (which has the dying Bangor Mall) so that range covers the Bangor area. There was already a Bangor NEVI location in Phase 5 (Equilon (Shell) at a Shell gas station off exit 186). Perhaps they withdrew so EM added one instead in Phase 6. (I hope it was withdrawn/cancelled, since the location sucked for Northbound use, in practical terms breaching the "within 1 mile of an exit" rule.)
- Increment subsequent numbering

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

And we have another update.

"
Efficiency Maine updated its Request for Proposals (RFP) for Electric Vehicle DC Fast Charging Stations - Maine Phase 6.

Key updates include:

Separated Segments #3 (I-95 in Hampden) and #4 (I-95 in Bangor). Only Segment #3 (I-95 in Hampden) requires a pull-through lane
Clarified that CCS is required and NACS is strongly encouraged
Added link to online Host Site Interest Form
"

I had missed the mention of NACS before. I hadn't read it in full. Now they have two other changes in support of NACS.
Under Charging Equipment Requirements it says
...
2. Each port must be able to serve EVs using the CCS standard (NACS is strongly
encouraged);
...

And the NACS connectors are now eligible for funding:
...
2.6.2 Eligible Costs
The costs of the following items will be eligible for the financial incentive through the grant award made
under this RFP:
a. DCFC units (including the required number of CCS connectors for each site as specified in Section
3.1.1), NACS connectors, power conversion hardware, and associated equipment;
...


Also:

Alternative Fuel Corridor	Segment or Location		Approximate Number of Sites
Interstate 295 (I-295) and US Route 1A	#1	From Exit 5/5A to Exit 8 and US Route 1A in Portland	1
Interstate 95 (I-95)	#2	From Exit 138 in Clinton to Exit 157 in Newport	1
	#3	From Exit 180 in Hampden to Exit 182 A/B in Bangor	1
	#4	From Exit 182 A/B to Exit 187 in Bangor	1
US Route 2	#5	From Rumford to Dixfield	1
US Route 302	#6	North Windham	1
	#7	From Fryeburg to Bridgton	1

They split up the 2 Bangor charging locations to the 2 exits south of Bangor (Dysarts and the I-95/I-395 exit), and then somewhere near a main Bangor exit. The northern range would include Broadway. Not too late for Tesla to swap in V4 stalls.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The locations for this round were updated 10/23:

Alternative Fuel Corridor	Segment or Location		Approximate Number of Sites
Interstate 295 (I-295) and US Route 1A	#1	From Exit 5/5A to Exit 8 and US Route 1A in Portland	1
Interstate 95 (I-95)	#2	From Exit 138 in Clinton to Exit 157 in Newport	1
	#3 and #4	From Exit 180 in Hampden to Exit 187 in Bangor	2
US Route 2	#5	From Rumford to Dixfield	1
US Route 302	#6	North Windham	1
	#7	From Fryeburg to Bridgton	1

- Change #1 to be I-295 and US-1A and specify the exit ranges instead of just saying Portland. US-1 and I-295 are concurrent in this area so no need to specify US-1. Exit 5/5A is first I-295 Portland exit at Congress St/Fore River Parkway and Exit 8 is Washington Ave/Baxter Boulevard. US-1A form a loop that goes to the Old Port between Exits 5 and 7, being Fore River Parkway, Commercial St, Franklin St.
- Change Hermon to 2 Bangor Locations. Exit 180 is the Coldbrook Rd exit with Dysart's Truck Stop, and Exit 187 is Hogan Rd (which has the dying Bangor Mall) so that range covers the Bangor area. There was already a Bangor NEVI location in Phase 5 (Equilon (Shell) at a Shell gas station off exit 186). Perhaps they withdrew so EM added one instead in Phase 6. (I hope it was withdrawn/cancelled, since the location sucked for Northbound use, in practical terms breaching the "within 1 mile of an exit" rule.)
- Increment subsequent numbering

It appears the Equilon/Shell in Bangor has indeed been canceled. Bad for CCS in Bangor at the moment (unless Magic Dock at the Tesla location), but I think better in the long run because that wasn't a good location.

EV Charging Initiatives - Efficiency Maine

Funding for Public EV Charging Stations Efficiency Maine periodically releases funding opportunities for the installation of EV charging stations at commercial and public properties. Visit our Opportunities page to view current funding opportunities. Federal tax credits may also be available to...

www.efficiencymaine.com

Towards the bottom of the page it mentions the Phase V awards. The text says 7 locations, but only 6 are listed. Note the lack of the Bangor location:

Phase V: EV Fast Charging in Augusta, Bangor, and Along U.S. Route 1
Efficiency Maine has announced seven awards to install new DC Fast Charging ports along I-95 in Augusta and Bangor, and along U.S. Route 1.

High-speed chargers will be installed at the following locations:

• D&C Properties, 423 East Main Street, Searsport – 2024
• Irving Oil, 1555 Atlantic Highway, Waldoboro – 2024
• Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, 11 Atlantic Avenue, Brunswick – 2024
• ReVision Energy, 225 High Street, Ellsworth – 2024
• Tesla, Inc., 197 Civic Center Drive, Augusta – 2024
• Tesla, Inc., 75 Maverick Street, Rockland – 2024

So maybe Tesla can get more NEVI money ...

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It appears the Equilon/Shell in Bangor has indeed been canceled. Bad for CCS in Bangor at the moment (unless Magic Dock at the Tesla location), but I think better in the long run because that wasn't a good location.

...

Towards the bottom of the page it mentions the Phase V awards. The text says 7 locations, but only 6 are listed. Note the lack of the Bangor location:

Efficiency Maine confirmed that the award to the Bangor location was cancelled and Bangor reassigned to Phase 6.