The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) approved Iowa’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Deployment Plan last Tuesday. Iowa will receive $51.4 million over five years in federal funding to install high-powered chargers for electric vehicles across the state. The first stage of this plan is to build chargers on interstate highways, and the next will be for community-based locations.
The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Joe Biden in December. The program will provide nearly $5 billion over five years to help states create a network of EV charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, particularly along the Interstate Highway System.
The Iowa DOT said it could be at least a year before the chargers begin popping up. The private sector is in charge of building the chargers, and they will need to first apply for some of the funding.
In order to get it, these companies must build the chargers along Iowa interstates. They have to be within a mile of the road, and there needs to be at least one every 50 miles. Initially, IDOT plans to focus on Interstate 29, Interstate 35, Interstate 80 and Interstate 380.
The Biden administration says a second grant also designed to expand charging access in rural and underserved communities should be announced later this year.