TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 5. Report Date 4. Title and Subtitle July 2021 Alterna tive Fuels Deployment Pla n for I-81and I-78 in Pennsylvania 6. Performing Organization Code: 7. Author(s) Nga ni Ndimbie, Ja ckie Koons-Felion, Da niel Szekeres, 8. Performing Organization Report No. Henry Felsman 9. Performing Organization Name and Address PA Department of Transportation Keystone Building 400 North St., Fifth Floor 10. Work Unit No. Harrisburg, PA 17120 Micha el Ba ker International 4431 N. Front Street, 2nd Floor Harrisburg, PA 17110 Portfolio Associates, Inc. 11. Contract or Grant No. 510 Walnut Street, Suite 1411 Philadelphia, PA 19106 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Pilot Federa l Highway Administration Final Report 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract This pilot deployment plan documents the efforts conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) in planning for electric vehicle (EV) and compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure a long the I-81/I-78 corridor in Pennsylvania. The deployment plan aims to identify the alternative fuel infrastructure that is needed for a “Ready” designation (under FHWA’s Alternative Fuel Corridor program) a long the corridor for both EV charging and CNG fueling and establish the steps PennDOT can take to facilitate implementation. The document is intended as a resource for future deployment plans a nd provides a recommended a pproach for outreach a nd coordination. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Alternative Fuel Corridors, Alternative Fuel No restrictions. Deployment Plan, Electric Vehicle Charging 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Uncla ssified Uncla ssified 96 N/A Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page a uthorized. i Acknowledgments Funded by: The United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Led by: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Partners: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) Contact: Ngani Ndimbie, PennDOT, [email protected] Project Team: Ngani Ndimbie, PennDOT Jacqueline Koons-Felion, PennDOT Dan Szekeres, Michael Baker International Henry Felsman, Portfolio Associates About PennDOT oversees programs and policies affecting highways, urban and PennDOT: rural public transportation, airports, railroads, ports, and waterways. More than three-quarters of PennDOT's annual budget is invested in Pennsylvania's approximately 120,000 miles of state and local highways and 32,000 state and local bridges. PennDOT is directly responsible for nearly 40,000 miles of highway and roughly 25,400 bridges, a system first established in 1911. Roughly 7,200 of PennDOT's complement of nearly 11,375 employees are engaged in the maintenance, restoration, and expansion of the state highway system. They work in central headquarters in Harrisburg and 11 engineering districts, with facilities in all 67 counties. PennDOT also administers the state's 11.8 million vehicle registrations and 10.3 million driver's licenses and IDs, and oversees safety and emission inspection programs. ii Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................1 Introduction .................................................................................................5 Understanding the Basics............................................................................. 11 Identifying Gaps & Needs............................................................................. 24 Identifying Priority Locations ........................................................................ 34 Funding Opportunities................................................................................. 59 Outreach & Implementation ........................................................................ 65 Conclusions & Lessons Learned .................................................................... 73 Appendix – Data Tables ............................................................................... 77 iii Executive Summary An Overview of the Alternative Fuels Deployment Plan for the I-81/I-78 PA Corridor . Background . Goals . Key Findings . Outreach & Implementation . Lessons Learned . Next Steps 1 Executive Summary Executive Summary Since 2016, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been supporting the expansion of a national network of alternative fuel infrastructure along national highway system corridors through the Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFC) Key Corridor Statistics program. Corridors are designated “Ready” if there is sufficient infrastructure to support long-distance travel or “Pending” if there is not. Distance (Miles) 166 mi. total In 2019, FHWA launched a limited, applied research funding opportunity to 89 as I-81, 77 as I-78 develop AFC Deployment Plans. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was one of just five transportation agencies selected MD border to NJ border nationwide. The purpose of the PennDOT Deployment Plan is to develop a strategy for filling gaps for electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging and compressed Avg. Daily Traffic natural gas (CNG) infrastructure along the 166-mile I-81/I-78 PA corridor that 100,000 in Urban Areas will the satisfy FHWA criteria for a “Ready” designation. This includes ensuring 35,000 in Rural Areas that distances between stations be within 50 miles for EV and within 150 miles for CNG. Employment Goals for PennDOT’s First Deployment Plan 590,000 As a pilot study – a first for PennDOT and among the first for FHWA – this (within 5 miles of corridor) Deployment Plan sets an example for how a transportation agency may plan for the build-out of alternative fuel infrastructure. Therefore, in addition to the main purpose of the study – upgrading the corridor to “Ready” for EV and CNG 2020 EV-CNG Ownership – PennDOT set the following goals, so that this document may be a resource for (for counties I-81/I-78 passes through) future plans conducted by state and regional planning agencies: 16,208 Over 90% growth since 2018 Demonstrate a data-driven approach to prioritizing locations for new infrastructure Current AFC Infrastructure Establish a role for a Department of Transportation (DOT) or on I-81/I-78 Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to play in planning and supporting future infrastructure 3 EV stations qualifying under AFC program* Evaluate equitable methods for outreach to small and large businesses I-81 Exit 52 and to third-party infrastructure companies on priority locations and o I-78 Exit 51/53 existing state funding programs o o I-78 Exit 67 Understand the current business models for station hosts and third- 3 CNG stations qualifying party infrastructure companies under AFC program I-81 Exit 52 Collaborate with administers of existing state funding programs to o o I-81 Exit 6/8 explore opportunities to incorporate Deployment Plan priorities into o I-78 Exit 57 program application processes *AFC EV stations must include both CHAdeMO and CCS connectors and be within 5 miles from the corridor 2 Executive Summary Key Findings EV Charging The map below shows the existing and proposed locations for new EV AFC-qualifying stations, as well as existing and proposed gaps on the I-81/I-78 corridor. A 5-mile buffer of the corridor is also shown, since for an EV station to quality under the AFC program, it must be within 5 miles of the corridor. The proposed locations for new EV AFC stations are: 1. One new EV station at I-81 Exit 14, 16, or 17 in Chambersburg, PA 2. One new EV station at I-81 Exit 72 or 77 in Harrisburg, PA 3. One new EV station at I-78 Exit 29 in Hamburg, PA With new stations deployed at each of these three exit locations, the corridor will be eligible for an EV-“Ready” designation, from Hagerstown, MD to Bethlehem, PA – including 156 miles of the 166-mile PA corridor. The final gap, from Bethlehem, PA to the next station in Springfield, NJ, is unable to be filled with a new station in PA, since the Springfield, NJ station is greater than 50 miles away from the PA/NJ border. Coordination will New Jersey transportation planning agencies will be required to fill this gap. Existing & Proposed EV Charging Along I-81 / I-78 I-78 Exit 29 I-81 Exits 72-77 I-81 Exits 14-17 CNG Fueling For CNG, the corridor already qualifies as “Ready” for 104 miles in Pennsylvania, from Carlisle, PA to the New Jersey border, and “Pending” for 52 miles, from Carlisle, PA to the Maryland border. Since the next CNG station south of Carlisle, PA, off I-81, is in Knoxville, TN, more than 500 miles away, and the “Pending” gap in PA is significantly less than the AFC maximum limit of 150 miles, the most strategic deployment of a new CNG station will be outside of the Commonwealth, requiring coordination with Maryland transportation planning agencies. Therefore, this Deployment Plan does not recommend locations for new CNG stations along the PA portion of the corridor at this time. 3 Executive Summary Outreach and Implementation Approach The approach to implementing new stations involves sharing the priority locations identified in this Deployment Plan with key stakeholders responsible for station deployment – EV network companies, planning partners such as MPOs,