Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is growing fast in the United States, with more EVs on the roads every day. In fact, there could be as many as 42 million EVs by 2035. The trend is global, and accelerating. In 2023, EV sales grew by 35% compared to the previous year, and 600% compared to sales five years prior. That’s a lot of EVs.

Four in ten Americans now say they are very or somewhat likely to seriously consider an EV, citing reasons including helping the environment and saving money on gas. Other benefits of EVs include the fact that they contribute to cleaner air and healthier communities, and offer opportunities for economic development in jurisdictions that embrace them. To date, companies have invested over $200 billion in manufacturing and deployment of EVs, an investment that has created more than 240,000 jobs across the country. While federal EV funding has recently become uncertain, local governments have made considerable progress in accelerating the deployment of charging infrastructure.

Many local governments have partnered with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) through an initiative called Charging Smart, through which they receive free technical assistance to improve local practices, including removing regulatory barriers around planning, zoning, and permitting, as well as procurement of vehicles, funding, and community engagement.

Local governments have an important role in supporting the build-out of both public and private charging infrastructure, ensuring that opportunities to utilize EVs are widely available to community residents and adopting EVs in their own fleets. For many counties across the United States, work to accelerate EV deployment has become a high priority. Below are three examples of counties receiving free technical assistance to implement measures that enhance EV preparedness.

Driving Rural Economic Development: Wise County, Virginia, USA

Located in southwestern Virginia, Wise County has a long history as an energy community. This rural county has been home to coal mines since at least the 1890s. Now, Wise County is shifting to EVs and other technologies, like solar, to diversify its economy and meet the needs of its residents, with particular focus on the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

“We want to retain energy as one of our key target industries,” said Brian Falin, Wise County’s industrial development supervisor. “We want to keep EVs—whether it’s the vehicles themselves or the manufacturing of the components that go into those vehicles—as one of our focuses.”

Wise County is working with Virginia Clean Cities as part of the Charging Smart program to make it easier, cheaper, and more attractive to deploy EV charging infrastructure. Lack of adequate charging infrastructure is one of the main barriers to people adopting EVs. Furthermore, installing new EV chargers can be a complicated, expensive process, as developers work through municipal ordinances and requirements designed without EV chargers in mind. Through the Charging Smart program, Wise County aims to streamline the installation process and provide support for local governments seeking to boost tourism.

“We definitely want to install some more public charging stations out there, as well as to encourage our private folks to install them,” said Natalie Chapman, Wise County economic development supervisor. The county has streamlined its EV charger permitting process to facilitate more installations.

The EV chargers are also aiding downtown redevelopment efforts. Towns like St. Paul and Big Stone Gap, Falin said, “are doing a lot of great things to make their downtown areas more walkable and more attractive with amenities.” As part of those efforts, the towns are working to add public charging stations, encouraging travelers to stop and shop while their car recharges. A 2024 study found that adding EV chargers to downtown business districts created a noticeable increase in visitor spending, making EV infrastructure a smart addition to economic development plans. By updating its practices through the Charging Smart program, Wise County aims to support these local efforts, both by enabling a wider network of EV charging—including at popular trailheads and hotels—and by providing templates and resources for other municipalities to use.

County development officials are also interested in the Charging Smart program for another reason: an “EV friendly” designation sends a message to manufacturers that the county is a good place to set up shop. Wise County’s approach is shaped by its previous experience with the SolSmart program, which provides similar assistance to remove unintended barriers to solar deployment. Wise County earned SolSmart’s prestigious gold designation in 2021. Since then, the county has increased the number of solar developments, including 10 utility-scale solar power installations expected to provide approximately $150,000 to the county in tax revenue. Another project, the Wild Cat Solar Project, will repurpose a former coal mine and is estimated to have an over $2 million economic impact over the project’s lifetime. By laying the administrative groundwork through the SolSmart program, Wise County prepared itself for these kinds of investments.

Now, Wise County aims to accomplish something similar with EVs. “From a public relations standpoint, it paints a good picture of the county, that we are looking to make new advances when it comes to energy,” Falin said. That message, he added, is “attractive to industries that are in the manufacturing sector for [EV] components.”

By expanding EV charging infrastructure across its jurisdiction, Wise County is supporting its residents while also maintaining the area’s rural character.

Planning for Growth: City and County of Denver, Colorado, USA

Denver, Colorado, is growing fast, with the population of the metropolitan area projected to reach 3.6 million by 2030. Based on national EV adoption forecasts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, local officials expect Denver to have one of the largest and fastest-growing EV markets in the United States. Staff at Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency, working in tandem with the transportation and other planning departments, are taking action to make sure the county is ready for that influx of people and electric cars.

“We see that transition [to EVs] happening faster and faster every year,” said Rebecca Coalson, energy project manager. “Really, as a city, we view our role as supporting not just that transition, but also supporting the infrastructure changes that need to happen as well.”

One of the first ways to do this is to encourage private developers to add EV charging stations wherever it is commercially viable to do so, particularly in the dense city center. That includes converting street parking spaces to support EV charging; planned updates to permitting for chargers, in order to streamline the process and remove barriers; and working with the local utility to resolve grid capacity issues.

“One of the things we’ve been focusing on is, ‘What are ways we can really incentivize the private sector to come in and install chargers at places where they’re needed?’” said Hayden Hogoboom, energy project coordinator. By clarifying and streamlining relevant inspection and other policies, Denver can make it easier and more profitable to install EV charging infrastructure.

Collaboration and outreach—with the local utility, the public, and other metropolitan municipalities—is essential to the success of these efforts. Like Wise County, Denver is receiving free technical assistance through Charging Smart. The city and county are working with experts at Drive Clean Colorado to enhance local processes; benefit from peer learning opportunities; and implement national best practices in EV zoning, inspection, and more. By leveraging this external support, Denver avoids having to reinvent the wheel, while simultaneously ensuring that the county is implementing policies that benefit its residents. That includes efforts to fill the gaps in private investment.

In 2020, Denver residents voted to create a climate protection fund, a sales tax that generates $40 million annually for projects including EV infrastructure. The Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency is using money from the fund to install public charging stations in areas that are lagging in private investment.

“We are trying to focus on filling the gap between where the private industry may not necessarily be going,” said Coalson, “in neighborhoods that don’t have the business case…but still need access to that charging, either because of a high renter population or because of just a very suburban population that doesn’t have access to single-family home charging.” By increasing the number of EV charging stations on public property, the city and county can address access in areas that the market has not yet served.

Denver’s work to expand EV chargers is part of a broader vision for cleaner, easier, and more environmentally friendly transportation. The city and county are working to expand the local network of bike and pedestrian trails, the number of transit routes, and generally give people more options to travel around the city. As Denver prepares for the future and the many residents expected to move to the area, EVs are a critical link in this diverse mix of transportation modes.

Achieving Sustainability Goals: Kane County, Illinois, USA

Kane County, Illinois, is getting hotter. Not just as a desirable place to live (this Chicago suburb expects a 6.5% increase in population—over 30,000 people—in the next five years), but also in terms of climate. Temperatures over 95°F are growing more common, as are heavy precipitation events, and the allergy season is growing longer. These changes represent the immediate impacts of climate change. In 2024, Kane County adopted a Climate Action Implementation Plan to make the city more sustainable. Transportation is the single largest source of CO2 in Kane County, and EVs are a key part of addressing those transportation emissions.

Even before adopting the climate plan, Kane County was interested in EVs. The county installed its first public charger as far back as 2012, and in August 2024, earned a silver “EV ready community” designation from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus as part of a Charging Smart-affiliated program to help Chicago-area local governments prepare for the growth of EVs.

As a result of the EV Readiness program, Kane County staff implemented measures that govern the growth and placement of EV infrastructure, in keeping with the county’s plans for development. County staff can say, for instance, “that chargers are needed in more places, and that we have the background to support that through these ordinances,” said Sarra Hinshaw, Kane County’s sustainability manager.

As county staff enact the measures listed in its climate action implementation plan, this previous work to support EV charging is giving them a leg up. “Going through some of our climate action plan’s actions, I was like, ‘Oh, I already did that with the Mayors’ Caucus; I did that with the Mayors’ Caucus; oh, that one’s check-marked, too.’ It extremely helped accelerate accomplishing the plan,” said Hinshaw.

As Kane County works to accomplish its sustainability goals and reduce emissions by 25% by 2030, staff are also making sure that people connect with the numerous other benefits of EVs. That includes educating students at a local community college about job opportunities in the EV sector, as well as making sure the county is able to meet the needs of incoming residents as it grows. By preparing for EVs, Kane County is preparing for the future.

ICMA is an outreach partner supporting the Charging Smart program. We encourage local governments to reach out and learn more at chargingsmart.org.

ZACK LOEHLE is communications manager at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.