GETTING A CHARGE – This graphic shows the communities where West Virginia plans to install public charging stations for electric vehicles. -- Graphic Courtesy/WV Department of Transportation

CHARLESTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation approved a plan submitted by West Virginia to expand the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the state over the next five years

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday his department approved the plans for all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico for expanding electric vehicle charging station infrastructure through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

NEVI was made possible through the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed last November. The bipartisan infrastructure bill was made possible through negotiations between President Joe Biden and U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. The bill was also supported by U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va.

“America led the original automotive revolution in the last century, and today, thanks to the historic resources in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re poised to lead in the 21st century with electric vehicles,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “We have approved plans for all 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country – from the largest cities to the most rural communities — can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles.”

The West Virginia Department of Transportation submitted its electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plan July 28, prepared by Huntington-based engineering firm Kimley-Horn. Now that the plan has been approved, state transportation officials plan to publish solicitations for phase one of the alternative fuel corridors (AFC) during late 2022 and early 2023, with first contracts being awarded this coming spring.

Phase one of the state’s plan calls for building electric vehicle charging stations every 50 miles along West Virginia’s major interstate highways, designating those highways as AFCs. Phase two will focus on community-based electric vehicle charging stations. EV stations for phase one would be located in Wheeling, Parkersburg, Ripley, Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Lewisburg, Bluefield, Flatwoods, Weston, Morgantown, and Martinsburg.

Ownership of electric vehicles in West Virginia increased by more than 341% in five years, from 235 EV registrations in 2015 to 1,037 registrations in 2020 according to the state Department of Transportation. But as of June, the state only has 14 stations and 28 electric vehicle ports (an average of two ports per station), not counting Tesla ports which only owners of Teslas can use.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill will provide 80% of the funding for West Virginia’s EV infrastructure plan, with 20% coming from third-party vendors. Phase 1 will cost $16.8 million, with total funding for the project over the next five years coming to nearly $48 million.