Michigan announced the winners of the first round of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI) program. Forty-one new charging locations will come online soon thanks to an investment of nearly $23 million in federal funds made possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
You can learn more about the sites and winners in MDOT’s Notice of Selection, which includes the image below. The blue circles represent charging locations funded in this round. Clean Fuels Michigan is excited to see the selected sites distributed across the State, including several in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Department of Transportation administers Michigan’s $110 million of NEVI funds and will issue subsequent RFPs for the remaining $87 million. NEVI funds must be used to build a “backbone” of EV infrastructure every 50 miles along Michigan’s alternative fuel corridors.
Michigan has identified forty-seven priority “nodes” to optimize the funding along the interstates. Now, thirty-five of those nodes will be under contract (yes, thirty-five nodes and forty-one sites; some nodes are doubled up). The twelve remaining nodes will need to be funded before the leftover funds can be used more flexibly to fill charging gaps across the State.
NEVI funding will go a long way towards building the infrastructure necessary to give Michigan’s motorists the confidence they need to get around the mitten in an EV. We also know that additional investments, programs, and policies will be necessary to prepare for and support the EV transition. Clean Fuels Michigan will continue working with policymakers to fully realize the potential of NEVI and other opportunities to build EV charging infrastructure across many use cases and locations in Michigan.
