Support for Expanding Public EV Charging Infrastructure in Montgomery County

In 2022, Maryland committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 60 percent below 2006 levels by 2031 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. Transportation is the state's largest source of GHG emissions, so transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), including the deployment of reliable, accessible charging infrastructure, is essential to meeting these goals. In support of the state’s goals, Montgomery County—one of Maryland's largest local jurisdictions—prioritized deploying additional public charging stations in the county. To support that deployment, the county needed to identify and rank potential EV charging sites considering accessibility and equity goals; determine the technical feasibility for preferred locations; and assess capital and operational cost requirements. The county’s Department of Environmental Protection contracted with ERG to develop a roadmap and tools to support a clear, defensible process for identifying and prioritizing EV charging locations across the county.

As the first step, ERG’s project team designed a comprehensive screening tool that would allow the county to use ranked attributes (such as proximity to major highways, vehicle density, environmental justice priority areas, and grid connectivity) to compare over 30,000 individual land parcels. Next, they developed an infrastructure roadmap by conducting on-site assessments at the county’s preferred EV charging locations to evaluate factors that influence installation options, including electrical capacity and physical layout. To enable the county to assess owner and operator costs, the ERG team developed a total-cost-of-ownership analysis tool, which utilizes a streamlined discounted‑cash‑flow framework to incorporate site‑specific financial drivers, such as utility rate scenarios, charger configuration assumptions, and construction costs. Together, the roadmap and tools will support Montgomery County’s near‑term actions and long‑range planning in advancing EV infrastructure deployment efficiently, equitably, and in alignment with supporting Maryland’s GHG emission reduction goals.