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FHWA OKs Alaska electric charging plan
Approval is for additional $11 million for EV charging stations along Alternative Fuel Corridor between Anchorage, Fairbanks
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The second annual plan of the Alaska Energy Authority and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
In a Nov. 7 press release, AEA and DOT&PF said the approval of the updated plan makes an additional $11 million available for installation of electric vehicle charging stations in Alaska.
Created as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, NEVI provides federal funds to states for strategic deployment of electric vehicle Level 3 Direct Current Fast Charging infrastructures, with the funding intended for an interconnected network with emphasis on locations near interstate highway exits.
Alaska is expected to receive $52 million over five years, with annual updated plans required.
The announcement includes approval of discretionary exception requests, and the agencies said sites already selected "may be sufficient to build out Phase One, the corridor from Anchorage to Fairbanks, and will move us closer to beginning Phase Two."
The federal funding augments an existing AEA program to help fund installation of high-speed EV charging stations on the highway system between Homer and Fairbanks, and on the highway corridor connecting Glennallen, Tok and Delta Junction.
Expanding network "This funding is critical to our goal of minimizing and eliminating existing barriers to electric transportation adoption in Alaska," said AEA Executive Director Curtis Thayer. "Expanding Alaska's charging network will give EV drivers peach of mind and confidence, knowing that convenient charging stations await them when traveling for work, recreation, and tourism."
DOT&PF Commissioner Ryan Anderson said, "We're taking a measured approach, with our private sector partners and AEA. The next phase will be to expand the system -- and we're starting in our most urban areas, then moving outward along our highways and eventually to our multimodal system."
Phase one is focused on the Alternative Fuel Corridor in Alaska, between Anchorage and Fairbanks, the agencies said, with NEVI funded stations required to have at least four combined charging system ports capable of 150 kilowatt output each, although some sites will have eight ports.
It could take up to two years to build out the Alternative Fuel Corridor. NEVI formula program funds will then be used for infrastructure along Alaska's highways and the Alaska Marine Highway System, with a focus on connecting small urban areas, rural communities on the road system, the road system to Canada and coastal communities on the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Projects First round projects were announced in September:
Tikahtnu Common in Anchorage;
Cottonwood Creek Mall in Wasilla;
Trapper Creek Three Bears in Trapper Creek;
Mount McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge in Denali State Park;
Jack River Properties in Cantwell;
Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge in Healy;
Nenana Chevron Station in Nenana;
Ester Gas in Ester; and
Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center in Fairbanks.
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