VermontBiz The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced the award of eleven electric vehicle (EV) public fast-charger projects that will contribute toward the build out of Vermont’s charging network to federal and state specifications.
With $9.3 million in federal funding and more than $4 million in private sector investment and Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, these awards are for the installation of 60 new fast-charging ports throughout Vermont. A port charges a single vehicle at a time. Each location will have between four and eight ports that can charge at a rate of at least 150 kilowatts per hour.
The new fast chargers will be located strategically for local economic and community benefits such as in downtowns, at local businesses, and in shopping areas.
“This first round of awards will establish a statewide network of convenient and reliable fast public charging along key routes,” said Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn. “The charging stations will be developed in close coordination with business, municipal, and utility partners in the communities where they are located and ultimately connect EV drivers in Vermont with a larger nationwide charging network.”
The projects are funded through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with matching dollars provided by the private sector. Through a competitiveRequest for Proposals (RFP) process, AOT selected bids for the design, construction, ownership, operation, and maintenance of public fast-charging infrastructure at 11 of the 15 priority locations identified in Vermont’s initial NEVI plan along key routes designated as Alternative Fuel Corridors.
This first RFP for federally funded fast charging was issued in July to the eight vendors pre-qualified through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process with the focus on installing fast chargers every 50 miles along Vermont’s highway corridors within one mile of highway exits as required by the NEVI program.
Awarded bidders will perform nearly all aspects of the NEVI program: secure agreements with site hosts, work with local certified contractors to design and install NEVI-compliant equipment, and operate and maintain the infrastructure for the long term to meet accessibility, reporting, and sustained public benefit.
Vermont was the sixth state in the country to install fast chargers under the NEVI program with the opening of the state’s first federally funded public EV fast charging station in Bradford through a separate procurement process earlier this year. AOT expects to issue a second-round solicitation for additional priority locations in early 2025.
Award details are posted to the Contract Administration award page on the AOT website. Forthcoming bidding opportunities for EV charging projects will be posted to the Contract Administration bid page on the AOT website.
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