Kyla Maki, Energy Resource Professional at Montana Department of Environmental Quality gave this presentation at the Forth State Transportation Electrification Strategy Best Practices webinar on March 14, 2023.

1. MONTANA ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES
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2. Montana’s Volkswagen Settlement
• $12.6 million allocation
• Funding for:
• Medium-Heavy Duty Diesel vehicle replacements and
repowers
• Light duty electric vehicle charging stations
Goals of Montana’s VW Plan
• Reduce mobile source NOx emissions
• Prioritize cleaner, alternative fuel vehicles and
infrastructure
• Achieve long-term air quality benefits
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3. Montana Alternative Fuel Corridors
Map of all existing Alternate Fuel Corridors in the U.S.
https://driveelectric.gov/resources/ 3

4. Electric Vehicle Market Analysis
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EV Estimate 2030 EV Estimate 2040
Growth
Scenario
EVs on
the
Road
In-state
EV
Market
%
EVs on
the
Road
In-state
EV
Market
%
Low 16,500 2% 44,700 4%
Medium 31,350 3% 87,900 9%
High 80,700 8% 231,230 23%
0
5
10
15
20
25
2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045
Montana
EV
Sales
(thousands)
Year
Low
Medium
High
Montana Vehicles
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045
EV’s
travelling
in
Montana
(thousands)
Year
Out-of-state Vehicles

5. Proposed Charging Station Locations
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6. Location Prioritization
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Criteria
Gap Filled
Traffic Count
Route
Amenity Count
Charger Cost
Vulnerability Index
Connection Hub
Route Locations
I-90
Columbus, Drummond, Haugan, Livingston, Lodge Grass, Superior, Three
Forks
I-15 Craig, Dutton, Melrose, Shelby
I-94 Custer, Forsyth, Glendive, Miles City, Terry
US-93 Darby, Lakeside, Olney, St. Ignatius
US-2
Browning, Chester, Culbertson, Cut Bank, Essex, Gildford, Glasgow, Happy's
Inn, Harlem, Havre, Hinsdale, Malta, Marion, Poplar, West Glacier, Wolf Point

7. State NEVI Plan Goals
• Build-out Alternative Fuel Corridors in Montana
• Rural connectivity
• Improve charging access in underserved communities
• Support tourism along key routes
• Ensure charging station reliability and affordability
• Support workforce and economic development
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8. State Plan Strategies and Priorities
• Provide funding for underserved/rural locations
• Fill 100-mile gaps along designated corridors first
• Address 50-mile gaps in later years
• Focus on locations that are “hubs” and gateway communities
• Continue to assess nominating additional corridors as AFCs for NEVI funding
• Monitor third party charging station deployments
• Support applications for community charging infrastructure grants
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9. Cost of EV Fast Charging
Low Use
(4 charges/month)
Medium Use
(40 charges/month)
High Use
(400 charges/month)
50kW station $140.20 $15.22 $2.72
150kW station $353.82 $36.55 $4.82
300kW station $670.92 $68.26 $7.99
Average Cost per Charging Session in Montana
From: Demand Charges and Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging: An Intermountain West Assessment, October 2021. NASEO et al.
https://www.naseo.org/data/sites/1/documents/publications/Demand%20C
harges%20and%20EV%20Charging%20-%20Final.pdf

10. Addressing EV Deployment & Operational Challenges
• Provide funding for battery storage
• Addresses electrical capacity and demand charge costs
• Require comprehensive operation and maintenance plan
• Make portion of funding contingent on maintaining uptime
• Explore and leverage other funding opportunities
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