Specifications include, but are not limited to: 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”1 in Maine. This solicitation will use funds dedicated to EV charging infrastructure from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).2 The NEVI program aims to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure along the nation’s Alternative Fuel Corridors. The target areas particular to this RFP are located on certain segments of US Route 1 and Interstate 95 consistent with the Maine Plan for EV Infrastructure Deployment published by the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) in July 2022.3 Bids that propose to serve only one location will be eligible, and bids proposing to serve multiple locations will also be acceptable. This solicitation seeks proposals to rapidly install publicly available, universal DCFC at distances no greater than 50 miles apart along certain segments of Alternative Fuel Corridors described in more detail below as “Eligible Segments.” The selected bidder(s) or bid team(s) will be expected to install, operate, maintain, and promote the use of the charging stations. The Trust seeks to award projects that will have a high likelihood of sustainable operation throughout the 5-year term of the contract and thereafter. In recognition that EV ownership is still in its early stages, and to accelerate adoption of public EV charging in strategically important areas, the Trust is offering capital incentives as well as five (5) years of operating support in the form of demand charge incentives. These incentives will partially defray the cost of demand charges during this nascent period of growth in EV traffic.
