NATSO urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to permit owners of direct current (DC) fast chargers to generate Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) when the electricity is produced from eligible feedstocks (e-RINs) to spur investments in electric vehicle charging stations.
In a recent letter to EPA, NATSO said that permitting e-RINs would meaningfully enhance the potential return on investment for fuel retailers and other businesses considering installing fast EV charging stations.
NATSO thinks that the Renewable Fuel Standard’s existing incentive framework should evolve to incentivize EV charging investment as well as investments in renewable liquid fuels.
More than 15 years ago, federal policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard and the biodiesel tax credit created a strong incentive for fuel retailers to invest in the infrastructure necessary to bring cleaner-burning biofuels to market.
This resulted in a vibrant market for biofuels because the private sector responded to those policy signals and incentives and made the investments necessary to bring new fuels to market. NATSO thinks the same approach will work with respect to EV charging infrastructure.
NATSO was joined in signing the letter by the National Association of Convenience Stores and SIGMA.
In its letter, NATSO said that if fast charging station owners could generate e-RINs when EV drivers refuel, it would help offset some of the challenges created by demand charges and other electricity market obstacles.
“The value derived from e-RINs could help unregulated businesses that do not operate in a guaranteed rate-of-return environment overcome financial challenges associated with installing charging stations and procuring and selling power to EV drivers,” NATSO wrote. “E-RINs can be that investment driver, just as RINs have driven biofuel investments for more than a decade.”
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