EV is good. EV is bad. Maybe EV is OK. The current US administration can’t seem to make up its mind. In February, the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that manages buildings owned by the federal government, was reportedly instructed to start shutting down all of its EV chargers (around 8,000 plugs). In April, the GSA clarified that only charging infrastructure “not deemed mission-critical” will be deactivated. No new charging station installations are to be authorized, and “associated contracts or orders will be terminated.”

Now it appears that the terminator won’t be coming for Beam Global’s portable, solar-powered charging stations. The GSA has renewed the company’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract through October 2030 (with an option to extend to 2040). This means that federal agencies, as well as state and local governments, continue to be eligible to purchase Beam Global’s products through the GSA MAS program.

Beam Global’s offerings are subject to a Cooperative Purchasing provision, which “accelerates procurement timelines by enabling eligible agencies to buy directly from pre-negotiated GSA contracts, satisfying competitive sourcing requirements without the need for lengthy Request for Proposal (RFP) processes,” Beam explains.

Municipalities and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the US Army, have proven to be good customers for Beam’s EV ARC system, which serves as a portable source of off-grid power for EV charging and/or other applications, including disaster relief and events. (Read our 2022 feature interview with CEO Desmond Wheatley.)

“We are encouraged to see the GSA renewing our multiple award schedule contract,” said Desmond Wheatley. “Our American-made products deliver energy security and transportation infrastructure solutions that provide value to government facilities across the nation. The disaster-preparedness attributes of our FEMA-listed products mean that this federal contract vehicle can also be used by state and local governments who wish to purchase our products without having to go through time-consuming and complex processes.”

Source: Beam Global