On October 22, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) took a major step in bolstering Virginia’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure by issuing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Phase 1-B Notices of Award. These awards are foundational to building increasingly accessible alternative fueling charging stations in close proximity to major federal highways.
VDOT’s proposed awards included the overall granting of an impressive $22.7 million to charging station sites across Virginia, with each site averaging $647,657. These funds will support 35 different sites selected from a competitive group of 19 applicants. Of the 19 applicants, 13 unique candidates were selected reflecting VDOT’s commitment to providing for various charging needs. Reflecting this, the categories of the areas of development included everything from dining/shopping/grocery to hotels and gas stations.
The federal NEVI Formula Program provides critical funding to individual states to support building a network of charging stations in their jurisdictions. The strategic location of these stations will not only reduce range anxiety for drivers of EVs but also provide a cost-effective option for all Virginian drivers. By reducing range anxiety, EV owners will encounter greater ease in traversing Virginia’s highways as they will not run out of battery power before reaching a charging station. NEVI’s ultimate goal is to ensure stations are available for use every 50 miles or less on major national highways, as a part of building up Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFC).
During the next round of NEVI project funding, Phase 1-C, VDOT seeks to further its goal of station frequency along AFCs in Virginia. In anticipation of this goal, VDOT is expected to expand/revise target areas based on the recent awards from the current phase. Currently, the areas targeted are around US Route 17/29 (south of Warrenton) and US Route 460 (east of Appomattox).
To stay up to date on Virginia’s NEVI progress, visit https://publicinput.com/VirginiaNEVI. If you would like to subscribe to VDOT NEVI Formula Program updates, please email nevi@vdot.virginia.gov.