America’s Plan to Speed Up Charging Infrastructure and Rollout of Electric Vehicles

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The White House announced new actions to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is designating 48 EV charging corridors along 25,000 miles of interstate highways to make it easier for drivers to switch to electric vehicles and cut greenhouse gas emissions in the process. The deployment is expected to provide access to clean energy technologies and reduce our country’s dependence on oil.

The plan calls for EV charging stations to be installed at least every 50 miles within the corridors covering 55 interstates. New signage will assist drivers with identifying the locations of charging stations in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

“Alternative fuels and electric vehicles will play an integral part in the future of America’s transportation system,” said Anthony Fox, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “We have a duty to help drivers identify routes that will help them refuel and recharge those vehicles and designating these corridors on our highways is a first step.”

On November 2, OK Energy Today reported that OG&E and OnCue partnered to establish a new EV supercharging station at the convenience store’s Czech Hall Road location in Yukon.

Additional EV stations are planned along the designated interstate corridors of I-40, I-35 and I-44 in Oklahoma.

Texas will be a major player in the EV charging corridor with multiple stations planned along Interstates 10, 20, 30, 35 and 45. Three regional states — Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico – are excluded from the corridor plan along with Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama and most of Florida. The feds are required to re-designate the EV charging corridors every five years, leaving the door open to possible expansion at that time.

Several business partners will work together on the project to establish EV charging stations throughout the corridors. They are heavy hitters including General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Kansas City Power & Light, Pacific Gas & Electric, General Motors, BMW, Nissan and others.

Two studies will be conducted in conjunction with the deployment. The DOE will initiate the first study, an EV infrastructure analysis, early next year. This study will identify the optimal number of charging stations needed in the corridors. The second study will provide best practices and how to standardize them.

The market for electric vehicles has grown rapidly in the past eight years. The number of plug-in EVs has increased from one to more than 20 models. Battery costs have decreased by 70 percent. The U.S. has increased the number of EV charging stations from less than 500 in 2008 to more than 16,000 today – a 40-fold increase.

Oklahoma has a current total of nine high power stations available for public use at the following locations:

Catoosa – 8 Tesla Supercharge ports at I-44, exit 240 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Parking Lot

Perry – 6 Tesla Supercharger ports at I-35, exit 186

Ardmore – 6 Tesla Supercharger ports off I-35, south of exit 32 on Holiday Drive at Classic Interurban Grill

Weatherford – 6 Tesla Supercharger ports off I-40, exit 84 at Lucille’s Roadhouse

Edmond – 2 EV Plugs at Bob Howard Nissan off Broadway Extension

Oklahoma City – 1 EV Plug at Hudiburg Nissan off I-240 Service Road

Oklahoma City – 1 EV Plug at ATC Drivetrain North off I-40 near Morgan Road

Oklahoma City – 8 Tesla Superchargers off I-40, exit 142 at The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City

Yukon – 1 OGE Fast Charger at OnCue off I-40, exit 137 on Czech Hall Road

The Sooner State currently ranks 32nd among states in electric vehicle usage, with a 27 percent increase in electric vehicle registrations statewide between 2015 and 2016.