Federal Government Solicits Proposals for Alternative Fuel Corridor Designations

The solicitation for nominations for alternative fuel corridors coincides with the Obama Administration announcing that electric vehicle charging infrastructure may qualify for as much as $4.5 billion in loan guarantees. NATSO has worked closely with the Department of Transportation on these issues.
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The solicitation for nominations for alternative fuel corridors coincides with the Obama Administration announcing that electric vehicle charging infrastructure may qualify for as much as $4.5 billion in loan guarantees.  NATSO has worked closely with the Department of Transportation on these issues.

In dual announcements on July 21, 2016, the Department of Transportation invited submissions from state and local governments to nominate stretches of the National Highway System for formal designation as “alternative fuel corridors,” while the White House unveiled a plan to accelerate adoption of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The announcements present several important policy and market implications for the travel plaza and truckstop industry, including: 

  • Criteria for Designating Alternative Fuel Corridors – NATSO is actively working to ensure that any fuel corridor designation is consistent with the current federal prohibition from offering commercial services at rest areas located on the Interstate right-of-way.  Additionally, the corridor designation process should harness the private sector and incentivize / build upon existing fuel retailers’ investment in alternative fuels (such as natural gas), rather than competing with these businesses in a manner that would discourage further private sector investment.
  • Loan Guarantee Eligibility and Procedure – In making commercial-scale electric vehicle (“EV”) charging projects eligible for billions of dollars in loan guarantees, it presents several important questions for NATSO members, including: (1) Is this a good opportunity to place EV charging equipment at truckstop locations? (2) What implications does this announcement have for the future of fuel and vehicles? (3) Could projects that receive federal backing potentially compete with private travel plazas?

Many questions remain unanswered and some of the details are unclear. NATSO will continue playing an active role as these new policies are implemented.  In the near-term this will include filing substantive comments with the Department of Transportation responding to the alternative fuel corridor solicitation.

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