On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58) was signed into law. IIJA includes a total of up to $5 billion in dedicated funding for the NEVI formula program. The NEVI program will advance the deployment of EV charging station infrastructure throughout the country, enable a convenient, reliable, and equitable charging experience for all users. Under the NEVI program each state was required to submit and EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan describing how it will use allocated NEVI program funds. Missouri’s Deployment Plan was approved by FHWA in 2022 and 2023. The plan is required to be updated annually and the 2024 edition will be submitted in August of 2024. NEVI program guidance indicates that states should initially prioritize funding for EV charging stations and infrastructure along the Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFC) within the interstate highway system. Missouri has designated AFC through the FHWA process that include the full mileage of all interstate routes within the state and does not include any additional routes from the US highway system or Missouri state highway system. The AFC in Missouri includes the full lengths of Interstate 29, Interstate 35, Interstate 44, Interstate 49, Interstate 55, and Interstate 70. To meet NEVI program requirements, Missouri plans to use initial funding to prioritize achieving fully built our status for its AFC. Fully built out designation requires: (1) be installed every 50 miles along the AFCs and within 1 travel mile of the AFCs unless a discretionary exception has been granted; (2) includes at least four 150kilowatt DCFC ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs; and (3) has minimum station power capacity at or above 600 kW and supports at least 150 kW per port simultaneously. the project will require upgrading existing EV charging station to mee NEVI requirement and constructing new stations to fill gaps between existing stations along AFCs.
