The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI, will provide Indiana with about $100 million to build a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles.
A plan to use the funds is due in August, and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) recently held a virtual "open house" webinar to get community feedback.
INDOT Deputy Chief of Staff Scott Manning said about 400 attended the event.
“… hopefully, that open house served as an opportunity to to educate people who participated on the opportunities that we have available through NEVI, some of the requirements and goals of the plan," he said. "Hopefully, it gave folks some expectations around what the plan can do, what it can't do.”
Manning said there will be additional in-person and virtual events before their plan is due.
He said challenges to building this infrastructure include having enough material supplies and skilled labor.
“They're affecting virtually every industry right now, and the electric vehicle charging industry is certainly not immune to that," he said. "So some of the initial conversations that we've had with charging station providers, the folks that that design, build and install this type of infrastructure, it is that the wait times can be as long as 12 to 24 months.”
Manning said another concern is whether the nearby power grid can even handle a DC fast charger. These chargers can bring a battery up to about 80-percent full, in around an hour.
He said right now, Indiana has about 320-publicly accessible EV charging stations across the state — but more will be needed as electric vehicles growth in popularity.
These charging stations will be placed along main Indiana highways.
