By Michael Elkins
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced Tuesday that they have approved electric vehicle charging station plans for all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, covering about 75,000 miles of highway.
It has yet to be announced how many charging stations the plan will cover. However, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed in November provides $5 billion in funds to help states install EV chargers along interstate highways over five years.
"We're not going to dictate to the states how to do this, but we do need to make sure that they meet basic standards," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this year.
According to the USDOT, states now have access to $1.5 billion to help build the chargers and the states should fund DC Fast Chargers. Federal funds will cover 80% of EV charging costs, with private or state funds making up the balance.
Stations should have at least four ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs. EV charging infrastructure should be installed every 50 miles along interstate highways and be located within 1 mile of highways.