April 7, 2022 |
The future of electric vehicles is coming, and WYDOT wants to pave the way. That’s why WYDOT Director Luke Reiner is putting his agency behind the effort to build infrastructure to support what he believes is inevitable. The writing on the wall is clear enough. Big government is pushing hard for plug-in vehicles while placing restrictions on gas-powered cars.
California leads the charge with nearly 13 percent of the cars registered there as plug-ins. Of the 211,000 private and commercial vehicles registered in Wyoming, the number of EV’s equals about 0.002%. Rounded up, that’s 0%.
Nationwide, the number isn’t much higher. Reiner said the reason for the slow walk to EV’s is because of the lack of infrastructure, or charging stations.
Pictured above: Tesla parked in Carbon County. Photo courtesy to Bigfoot 99.
The Biden administration is spending $1 billion of taxpayer dollars to amp-up the infrastructure with charging stations. The program is called National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI. The charging stations, built with combination of federal and private dollars, will be located every 50 miles on designated alternative fuel corridors around the nation.
All three interstates in Wyoming—or 1,400 miles of highway—have been granted the designation. According to new release last month from the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Wyoming will collect $3.9 million this year, and about $5 million a year for the next five years to plan and facilitate a network of about 30 charging stations for electric vehicles.
Charging stations come in three basic varieties. Level 1 chargers are the 120-volt unit that people use at home to trickle charge a battery overnight. Level 2 is a 240-volt unit. It also supplies a slow charge, but multiple cars can be hooked to it at the same time. These are found sometimes at apartment complexes and at shopping malls. Level 3 chargers are commercial-sized units in the 480-volt range. They require three-phase power. The smallest of the Level 3 chargers are rated at about 50 kilowatts. The biggest is 350 killowatts.
Jesse Kirchmeyer is WYDOT’s project manager for the electric vehicle program. Kirchmeyer said federal guidelines for the EV “fill-up” stations on the alternative fuel corridors require units in the mid-range between the smallest and the largest of the Level 3 chargers.
The charging stations must be located within a mile of the interstate, at least during the first phase of the roll-out. What they look like, what amenities they offer and how they’re landscaped will be up to private developers. Reiner said WYDOT will putting out RFP’s from the private sector to develop the stations.
Most of the $28 million earmarked for Wyoming to develop the charging stations will go to private developers. Reiner emphasized that the federal government will match up to 80 percent. Private enterprise could certainly pony up more than 20 percent of the necessary capital. Reiner said WYDOT’s RFP’s will pinpoint for locations in the state where a charging station should be built.
Charging stations for EV’s is just the first phase of the federal government’s effort to retool America’s transportation system Kirchmeyer said more programs focusing on other fuel sources are likely to come.
WYDOT began shopping the NEVI project to communities around the state on Monday. Meetings have been held in Cheyenne, Casper, Cody and Riverton. Two forums will be held today, one in Jackson this morning and Rock Springs tonight. WYDOT official will be in Rawlins tomorrow to lay out the basic plan, as well as take questions. Director Reiner emphasized the need for public input. Tomorrow’s meeting will be held at the Rawlins Recreation Center from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Locate an EV charging station in Wyoming
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Related: WYDOT announces strategy for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding
