If your project is approved for funding, the funding agency will inform you and then send you a contract to sign that specifies you will do everything you said you would do in your application. Once that contract is signed, it triggers the funding allocation and now any money you spend on your project is eligible for reimbursement up to the percentage signified by the funding agency. You can now start the process of procuring permits, buying EV charging equipment, and starting the installation.
At this stage, you will also start your pre-installation reporting, where you keep the funding agency abreast of the various steps you’ve taken, like the aforementioned procuring of permits, and purchasing of equipment. Essentially, you just need to keep them updated on the project timeline as it unfolds.
Once your project is completed, you can submit your reimbursement package, which will require documents like permits, invoices, receipts, and commissioning documentation as evidence for the money you spent.
After your project is built and your EV chargers are commissioned, and you receive your reimbursement, you will need to maintain the infrastructure equipment and begin your post-installation reporting. This is where you provide the funding agency with data and reports based on the information they want to collect. This will often be data like the number of drivers using the chargers and how much power is being used by the chargers and delivered to drivers during specific periods, like per quarter or year. This reporting will have to be carried out for a specified amount of time, usually three, five, or seven years. Your funding agency may choose to visit and audit your site during this time to ensure it is adhering to all your contractual obligations and compliance regulations.
How to ensure you have a strong funding application
You may think that the more information you provide, the stronger your application will be. However, funding agencies are not simply looking for the most information. They are looking for the right information. Many of them will actually penalize you for including marketing “fluff” in your application. This is why a lot of grant applications have word or page limits. They don’t want to be inundated with information. They just want enough information to make an informed decision.
Read all requirements
Before you take any action, read through the application completely so you don’t miss anything. Take note of all requirements and make sure your project meets all those requirements. It’s no use trying to procure funding from a program that only funds projects within a mile of an Interstate highway if your project does not fit that requirement. You would just be wasting your time and the funding agency’s time.
Take note of all documents you will need and all the questions they ask you so you can start gathering those documents and formulating your answers.
Answer questions completely and concisely
You want to strike a balance between being informative, but to the point. When answering questions, you can use the same format students in school are taught, and that is to use the question as part of your answer. A simplified example of this would be if the question is: “How will this project benefit community members?” you could start your answer with something like: “This project will benefit community members by …” Framing your answer with the same wording as the question will ensure you are always addressing exactly what the question is asking.
Write your answers so that a non-expert will still be able to understand them
The person reviewing your application may be an EV charging expert. However, they may also have limited knowledge about EV charging. You should answer your questions in a way that would be understood by either an expert or a non-expert. Getting overly technical in your answers may alienate a reviewer who is not an EV charging expert. Concentrate on why this project is needed in this specific place and how your project will fulfill that need.
Be prepared
As noted earlier, many funding agencies have a preference for projects that are ready to build now. If you are already thinking about applying for grant funding, then you might as well start taking steps to move your EV charging project forward, even before you’ve procured funding. This means coordinating with your local utility provider, finding an electrification partner like Blink, researching EV charging infrastructure, getting pricing quotes, drawing up plans, and potentially getting your permitting process ready to start.
However, you should note that any money spent by you before you sign your funding contract is not eligible for reimbursement. The signing of the contract is the action that officially starts the funding process, so you are only eligible to be reimbursed for costs incurred after you sign the contract. Try to stave off any spending until after you have signed your funding contract (or, just be prepared to absorb any costs associated with your project that you incur prior to signing your contract).
Sometimes organizations will submit applications based solely on EV charging concepts and sometimes these conceptual projects will be approved. If these projects ultimately don’t come to fruition, this can cause issues at the funding agencies because that approved funding did not end up being used. This is why there is usually a bias for project readiness.
Coordinate with your utility provider ahead of time
Some funding agencies require you to coordinate with your utility provider before you approach them for funding, however that is not always the case. Regardless of whether it is required or not, it will make your application stronger if you have contacted your utility provider ahead of time and ascertained whether your site has the requisite power needed for your project or whether you will require upgrades and how much those upgrades are likely to cost.
If your site requires power upgrades and you can get your site into the queue to have those upgrades performed, it will be helpful for your application because power upgrade bottlenecks are a pain point within the industry. Sometimes there are backlogs and delays involving utility upgrades, so if you can get ahead of that, it will show the funding agency that you are serious about your project and are already taking steps to get your site prepared.
Stack funding applications
Applying for one funding opportunity does not exclude you from applying for another funding opportunity. You should find any funding you are eligible for and apply for all of them, even if they overlap. This is known as “stacking” funding. You may be leaving funding on the table if you don’t apply for every opportunity you are eligible for. You may be eligible for grant funding and a utility rebate. If so, try to get both of them.
Have strong project management and disciplined documentation tracking in place
You will be expected to build your EV charging infrastructure project in a timely and professional manner and track all of your expenses so they can be easily verified. You may as well have your project management and documentation tracking ready ahead of time so you can tell the funding agency that you have these in place. Again, this proves you are serious about your project and are ready to go as soon as the contract is signed.
