Delaware’s Department of Transportation has $17.5 million to spend over the next five years to install more electric vehicle charging stations.
The funding is part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The goal is to find and fund half a million new charging stations along major travel routes across the country.
DelDOT’s Director of Resilience and Sustainability Jim Pappas says they’re looking for proposals from private entities to install charging stations along Route 1, 13, 113, and I-95.
“And so what we’re looking is for a vendor or vendors to install charging stations at a minimum of one every 50 miles along those specific corridors," Pappas says. "So if one vendor comes in with a great proposal and says ‘we can do the whole state’ that’s great.”
Pappas says the chargers will be DC fast chargers and there will be a fee to use them, determined by the electric market. He adds vendors will handle upkeep, and if they fail to keep charging stations up and running, the state can recoup some of the money used to install them.
Pappas says they are aware of technical challenges with charging stations – some frequently break down. But NEVI is a 5-year program, and as long as vendors are receiving state funding, they will be required to keep the charging stations operational 97% of the day.
“There’s some software that is going to be included in this equipment that basically monitors how often is the equipment used and will also monitor making sure that it’s working," Pappas says. "So when we get those monthly reports, if they’re not working, we’ll touch base with that firm to say, ‘do you realize your equipment isn’t working,’ and if for whatever reason they delay in fixing it, we have a way of getting money back.”
DelDOT says there are more than 10,000 electric vehicles registered in Delaware, and the need for changing stations will grow as more are purchased.
Proposals will be accepted through September 14th. Vendors will be selected by the end of this year, and Pappas says construction should start by next spring.
