The US plan to electrify the transportation industry remains in full swing after the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced its plan to add 11 new EV stations alongside its highway system.
ODOT said that in compliance with federal plans, each of the new charging stations will be placed within one mile of a highway exit and spaced out 50 miles apart from one another—though exact locations have yet to be determined.
The EV charging stations—good for both cars and trucks—are slated for placement in 2023 along Interstates 5 and 205, and US Highway 97, with each station having four DC fast chargers with the ability to add more in the future as needed.
The ODOT has over $ 100 million to use over the next five years for the creation of EV charging infrastructure.
Per ODOT, it: “will have a total of $9.6 million for FY (fiscal year) 2022-2023 to build out public EV charging ($7.7 million federal + 20 percent non-federal match) in partnership with private EV charging companies. This is the first round of federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocates $52 million, and requires a 20 percent non-federal match, for a total [of] $65 million over five years to Oregon for public EV charging infrastructure.”
Not just an Oregon state initiative, a total of 35 states have received funding to build out EV charging infrastructure across 53,000 miles of highways. On September 14, 2022, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $5 billion in funding to help states install EV chargers along interstate highways, with additional funding to come.
Upon that infrastructure law announcement, said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated: “Today, with funding in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are taking an important step to build a nationwide electric vehicle charging network where finding a charge is as easy as locating a gas station. With the first set of approvals we are announcing today, 35 states across the country—with Democratic and Republican governors—will be moving forward to use these funds to install EV chargers at regular, reliable intervals along their highways.”
Thirty-five plans had been submitted by states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and are the first group to have their NEVI EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans approved by the USDOT: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.