This ESTCP-funded Pilot Program set out to align non-tactical vehicle (NTV) electrification planning with mission, energy, cyber, and community requirements as part of one comprehensive energy resilience ecosystem. This approach enabled installations to find optimal site-specific infrastructure acquisition tools to leverage state, community, and utility partnerships and to reduce required Department of the Air Force (DAF) capital by leveraging third-party financing authorities.

The DAF NTV fleet electrification approach addressed the following technical objectives in support of its zero-emission vehicle acquisition goals:

• Conduct a “make-ready” analysis to determine the minimum amount of charging infrastructure required at each electric vehicle charging facility (EVCF).
• Recommend an acquisition pathway and model for EVCF ownership and operation.
• Develop an output called the EVCF Siting and Acquisition Plan.
• Evaluate grid capacity to determine if sufficient capacity existed to support proposed EVCFs or whether a nearby/adjacent site should be considered.
• Identify the requirement for resilient charging at each EVCF.
• Understand installation-specific concerns and work to address them at the enterprise level.

To successfully electrify the NTV fleet in a manner that complements the DAF strategic energy resilience ecosystem, the DAF selected an approach to address multiple intersecting critical elements, such as mission and readiness, infrastructure planning, transaction management, legislative requirements, and regulatory issues. This approach used comprehensive stakeholder engagement to address relevant intersections and establish standards for how the DAF plans for, acquires, manages, and sustains electric vehicle supply equipment. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure (SAF/IEE) selected Joint Base Andrews (JBA) and Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst (JBMDL) as the two baseline locations in the Pilot Program based on their array of vehicular assets, the status of their installation energy plans, and their existing partnerships with utility companies and potential community partners.

The ESTCP-funded component of the Pilot Program—consisting of the two baseline installations, JBA and JBMDL—demonstrated considerable success across several measures. First, SAF/IEE expanded the scope of the project to a full Pilot Program with a total of 18 sites (including those funded by ESTCP) in 2022. The second round of 16 sites is referred to as “Phase 2” of the Pilot Program. Next, the SAF/IEE Energy team produced a NTV Fleet Electrification Framework document to guide individual installations across the DAF in electrifying their vehicle fleets. Finally, the team developed and successfully demonstrated novel acquisition pathways, as well as ownership and operating models, to provide flexibility according to installations’ circumstances. In August 2023, the NTV Fleet Electrification Pilot Program graduated from “Pilot” phases to a “Validation” phase. The SAF/IEE Energy team, in partnership with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), selected 27 DAF installations for the Validation Phase from across the Total Force—Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command, and U.S. Space Force. During the Validation Phase, the combined SAF/IEE and AFCEC Office of Energy Assurance teams will use the NTV Fleet Electrification Framework to establish the Fleet Electrification Program across the enterprise.

During the implementation of the Pilot Program, the DAF uncovered policy gaps that called for new solutions. Not all installations had established pathways to recover the costs of distributing facility energy to contractor owned charging units, or to recover costs of providing electricity for charging of personally-owned vehicles (POV). The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requires any POV charging to occur at no cost to the Government. Throughout the Pilot Program, the DAF engaged various stakeholders to inform and develop policies to guide installations on the use of facility energy, electricity as an alternative fuel, and Charging as a Service (CaaS) solutions to enable FAST Act-compliant POV charging. The DAF also captured lessons learned from working with the Defense Innovation Unit CaaS program for the first time as an acquisition pathway for multiple pilot installations and utilized this knowledge to refine SAF/IEE guidance for the ongoing NTV Fleet Electrification Program.