Evers signs bills for EV charging build-out
State now eligible for $80M in federal funds
MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed into law a pair of bills that clear the way for the development of a network of electric vehicle charging stations along Wisconsin’s interstates and highways.
Wisconsin now has a path to capture nearly $80 million in federal funds to help private businesses begin work on offering high-speed Level 3 charging stations.
“We don’t have to choose between protecting our environment and natural resources or creating good-paying jobs and infrastructure to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy — in Wisconsin, we’re doing both,” Evers said in a statement.
The state has already been approved for the first two years of funding, which would cover up to 80% of the cost of building out a privately owned, high-speed EV charging network along Wisconsin’s interstates, federal and state highways. But until now, the state Department of Transportation hasn’t been able to spend the money because state law doesn’t conform with the rules of the federal program.
That has left the DOT sitting on about $34 million that could be spent on construction of a reliable, accessible and affordable charging network that is seen as a key building block to encouraging more widespread acceptance of electric vehicles.
State transportation planners have been working on the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Initiative since 2021, when the national program was created as part of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The DOT’s plan is to partner with convenience stores, retailers and other businesses to set up about 60 highspeed charging stations that would be placed about 50 miles apart along highways that have been identified as Alternative Fuel Corridors. That includes the interstate highways as well as seven U.S. highways and part of state Highway 29.
Each charging station must have at least four high-speed charging ports, and stations must be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which provides the funding, requires charging stations to be privately owned, have at least four high-speed Level 3 charging ports, be compatible with all vehicle brands and charge by the kilowatt hour, or the amount of electricity that’s delivered to the vehicle.
The program authorizes state
governments to use the funds to cover up to 80% of the cost of installing privately owned and operated high-speed charging stations that are compatible with all vehicle makes. The funds are designed as an incentive for businesses to install charging stations at a time when electric vehicle adoption is accelerating, although EVs still make up only a small percentage of all vehicles. Electric vehicles accounted for about 2.8% of all passenger vehicle registrations in Wisconsin at the end of 2022, the most recent year for which state-level data is available. That’s less than 16,000 vehicles. How soon the first charging stations will be built is unclear. The DOT began soliciting proposals in early January from business owners who want to set up charging stations. Those proposals are due by April 1, after which the DOT will review the proposals and identify funding recipients.