Projects shall provide safe, convenient, cost-competitive, reliable, and easy access for drivers to recharge mass-produced electric vehicles or refuel hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with industry standard equipment. Projects shall address gaps in the state's low-carbon transportation infrastructure which may include expanding the network of infrastructure geographically along underserved roadways, upgrading existing stations with equipment that is compatible with more makes and models of alternative fuel vehicles, and adding stations in high-usage areas to provide fault tolerance and redundancy. The department may prioritize projects located in or benefiting vulnerable populations and highly impacted communities. The department shall ensure projects meet the following requirements:

(1) Bidders must have private sector partners contributing to the project who stand to gain indirect value from development of the project including, but not limited to, motor vehicle manufacturers, dealerships, retail stores, utilities, economic developers, and tourism stakeholders;

(2) Bidders must demonstrate that the proposed project will be valuable to alternative fuel vehicle drivers and will address a gap in the state's low carbon transportation infrastructure;

(3) Projects must be expected to be profitable and sustainable over time for the owner-operator and/or the private sector partner, inclusive of indirect value gained;

(4) Bidders must specify how the project captures the indirect value of station deployment to the private sector partner;

(5) Bidders and their private sector partners must agree to operate and maintain the stations for at least five years and must meet the requirements in the department's solicitation materials for equipment offerings, interoperability standards, station operations and uptime, public access, payment options, customer service, signage, and period of performance; and

(6) Bidders and their private sector partners can reinvest any proceeds from ongoing operations to upgrade equipment and expand the site to accommodate higher utilization rates in the future.