Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change

Partnering with Us to Host Affordable EV Charging

The aim of Charge Up Dane County is to fill gaps in EV charging infrastructure so that everyone can access affordable EV charging.

Key to this effort is identifying sites where we can install the grant-funded EV charging infrastructure. This page details our efforts to identify and vet potential sites for EV charging stations.

We identify site hosts via a simple Request for Proposals (RFP) process. A third and final RFP closed on April 2, 2026. We are now in the process of vetting those Round 3 sites.

What Charging Gaps Will This Program Fill?

Map showing priority areas as well as existing and planned EV infrastructure

Map of Priority Areas & EV Infrastructure

This map shows the sites where Charge Up Dane County proposes to install Level 2 charging. These are the sites that we have vetted through preliminary design and environmental review.

The map also illustrates:

the areas with multi-family housing, rural parts of the county and areas identified as low income (and thus likely underserved by existing EV charging)
existing public charging (both Level 2 and Level 3)

There is also a list of the sites available.

Access the map View List of Proposed Sites

Learn More About Being a Host Site

How to Apply Priority Locations Other Site Host Requirements Benefits for Site Hosts Charging Infrastructure Specifics

How to Apply

Interested site hosts are required to register as vendors at the County's eProcurement Portal.

Learn more about the County's procurement process here.

Refer to this User's Guide for details on setting up a vendor account.

If you want to submit multiple applications (which is perfectly fine) then you will need to create multiple vendor accounts as there's a limit of one application per vendor account.

Priority Locations

Our priorities are locations that fit at least one of the following criteria:

High-density urban and suburban areas where residents lack access to private charging networks (so, for example, multifamily neighborhoods) OR
Rural areas where the private charging market is less likely to install charging stations OR
Multi-modal transportation hubs where EV charging can support public and active transit options

Other Site Host Requirements

Requirements for site hosts include:

Public access: the chargers must be available to the general public; EV owners will pay a fee for charging but not a separate fee for parking
Reserved EV parking: the spots must be designated "Parking for EV Charging Only"
ADA accessability: at least one of the 4 charging spots must be ADA compliant, which means the host will need to provide 5-6 spots in today, depending on lot design
5 year agreement: the host agrees to maintain public accessability and affordable charging for five years after the station is up and running
Station-use reporting requirements: the host will assist with reporting on station use which is tracked by the charging software
State of Wisconsin excise tax filings: as the owner of the stations, the host will be responsible for paying the State of Wisconsin EV excise tax (the host will recover this tax in charging fees)

All of the requirements are detailed in the Site Host Agreement, which is Attachment A in the RFP.

Additionally, we've created an FAQ for site hosts, available here.

Benefits for Site Hosts

Entities should consider applying to be a site host because there are multiple benefits including:

Free EV charging infrastructure equipment, installation and 5 years of operations & maintenance
Permanent infrastructure upgrades to your property
Potential for increased traffic to your business
Potential to offer useful service to the neighborhood
Charging fees will cover the cost of electricity and taxes--so there's no out-of-pocket expense for hosts

Charging Infrastructure Specifics

Charge Up Dane County aims to fill the gaps in the existing charging network, to offer affordable charging in areas where the private market is unlikely to offer that charging.

Our focus is on Level 2 charging, not fast charging. Other entities are already filling the fast-charging gaps in the County.

Compared to fast chargers, Level 2 chargers will have a nominal impact on an entity's electric bill. Our aim is to set charging fees so that the site host recovers all electricity costs as well as the State of Wisconsin EV excise tax and any associated handling fees.

Status of Site Host RFPs

During 2025 we conducted two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for site hosts. Both public and private entities were eligible to apply to be site hosts as long as they agreed to the terms of our federal grant.

In Round 1, which closed in June 2025, we received 57 applications and of those, 51 met at least one of our priorities (multi-family area, rural or multi-modal). We moved all 51 sites forward to a desktop review then a site visit and, if the site seemed viable, to preliminary design, cost estimates and the required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) paperwork. Ultimately we completed paperwork on 31 of those 51 initial sites with a few others put on hold for Round 2. As of March 26, 2026 FHWA-WI officials have approved the NEPA paperwork on those first 31 sites.

In Round 2, which closed in September 2025, we received 21 applications and of those 20 met at least one of our priorities. Again, we moved sites forward to a desktop review, site visit and design if the sites were viable. We also integrated some on-hold sites from Round 1. The team is currently completing design, cost estimate and NEPA paperwork on 20 sites under Round 2. As of April 1, 2026, the FHWA-WI officials have approved NEPA filings for 2 of the Round 2 sites. Other filings are still pending approval.

We issued a Round 3 RFP in early March that closed on April 2. We received 13 applications and then, again, did a review of the past applications that we did not move forward to identify any other promising sites to pursue. Ultimately we moved 17 sites forward to design.

As of August 2026 we have 64 active sites across the three rounds of RFPs.

Watch Recording of Round 2 Site Host RFP Webinar

OECC hosted a webinar on Tuesday, September 9 to review the Round 2 RFP and respond to questions. The webinar recording is available for viewing.

WATCH ROUND 2 WEBINAR

Watch the Round 1 Site Host Webinar for More Details

OECC hosted a webinar where we talked about the Charge Up grant and the Round 1 site host RFP opportunity. Staff responded to questions from attendees. Watch the video recording to learn more about this opportunity. .

WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING