The Ohio Department of Transportation is seeking feedback on plans for its state-wide electric vehicle charging station network.
, ODOT鈥檚 department leading the EV developments, is planning electric vehicle charging stations every 50 miles across 1,867 miles of Ohio interstates and highways.
鈥淥ur mission as the state DOT, we're trying to expand access,鈥� DriveOhio Executive Director Preeti Choudhary said. 鈥淲e had a lot of these types of meetings where folks have called out glaring gaps in southern Ohio in our Alternative Fuel Corridor network, and I think we'll be looking towards addressing those initially.鈥�
Alternative Fuel Corridor refers to interstates and highways that are designated to support electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, propane and natural gas fueling infrastructure according to the .
The charging stations must meet federal requirements set by the , federal efforts to create a system of public EV charging stations across the country.
The NEVI formula program requires a charging station every 50 miles along the interstate and within one mile of an interstate exit. Each charging station should be equipped with at least four DC fast charging ports, capable of charging a vehicle within 20 to 40 minutes, and at least 150 kilowatts per port -- 600 kW of power per charging station.
鈥淎t the end of the day, this should not feel like you're having to embark upon a new technological journey every time you decide to charge a vehicle. 鈥� It shouldn't be laborious to charge at different types of charging stations,鈥� Choudhary said. 鈥淵ou should have consistent look and feel and expectations. I think that's where the federal government would like to see us go, and those are the sorts of requirements they put in place to ensure that consistency.