ARKANSAS, USA — Arkansas is set to receive $54 million to ensure electric vehicle charging stations will be built along our major interstates.
The money is part of a $5 billion national plan called the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding Program (NEVI), an effort to put up to 50,000 charging stations across the country by the year 2030.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) has prepared a plan to determine where the stations should go by creating a map as a starting point. According to federal guidelines, the stations have to be every 50 miles and within one mile of an exit ramp to include public accessibility.
According to officials, the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment plans to apply for additional federal grants as they become available in hopes to address the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Arkansas.
The charging stations will include three levels of charging stations for different types of electric vehicles.
Another stipulation of the federal funding is to make sure 40% of the funding is used to serve disadvantaged communities across the state.
Electric vehicles registered in Arkansas are up 43% in the first five months of 2022 from the end of 2021, according to Scott Hardin with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.