State Agencies & Counties, 2021
State of Hawai’i
Background
Back in 2009, Hawai’i procurement policy had already established electric vehicles as the highest priority choice when procuring a vehicle. However, due to budget constraints, government departments statewide did not have the financial capacity to transition to electric vehicle systems in a timely manner.
Accordingly, the State of Hawai’i, together with the individual county governments, hospitals, and the university system issued a statewide procurement in late 2019 to engage a vendor that would provide a holistic user-fee-based package covering both electric vehicles, chargers, and all related infrastructure to reach its sustainability goals, lessen its dependency on oil, and reduce its carbon footprint.
In December 2020, a services contract was signed for Sustainability Partners, LLC (“SP”) to provide Electric Vehicles (“EVs”), Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (“EVSE”), and any necessary energy infrastructure to state and local government agencies.
This contract is positioned to fully facilitate Hawaii’s rapid fleet transformation to zero emission transportation. With a simple “addendum” to the core contract, Hawai’i can add new vehicles and infrastructure whenever and as often as needed.
Background
SP is the sole provider of Electric Vehicles (EVs), Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), and related infrastructure to the state and local government agencies throughout Hawai’i in a services contract that was signed in December 2020. To date, projects have been a combination of Hawai’i self-funded, SP-funded, and SP-funded along with federal grants like the NEVI program.
SP began installing charging stations in February 2021, and the first vehicles arrived two months later. Over 160 EVs with charging infrastructure installations have been completed, comprising a wide array of light and heavy duty vehicles (including transit) fleets. These projects include accommodations to utilize both grant funds (FTA, NEVI, etc.) and tax incentives to reduce monthly usage fees.
As new needs arise and new electric transportation technologies become available, Hawai’i is now pre positioned to adopt the best solutions immediately, generating significant financial and environmental savings. This contract is a key tool for the State to reach its goal – 70% clean energy by 2030 – by reducing fuel consumption of in ground transportation.
Current orders include fully upfitted vehicles, trucks, buses, shuttles, refuse vehicles and street sweepers, plus all associated charging infrastructure. Additional projects focusing on microgrids, energy storage, and energy creation are also in development.
SP has direct relationships and contracts already in place with valuable strategic partners such as GM, Ford, Tesla, ABB, and others, enabling expedited implementation.
Impact
In collaboration with SP, Hawai’i is well on its way to accomplishing its clean transportation goal! Initial projects have been implemented and now operating, while new ones are in the process of being deployed.
In addition to rolling out a myriad of fully customized electric vehicles and charging infrastructure across the islands, the State is also achieving significant cost savings in fuel and maintenance, environmental improvements with zero emission assets, improved local economies as on-island businesses are utilized as often as possible, and expedited implementation of modern, durable, and robustly engineered solutions.