Barre, VT- Vermont is seeking to expand its network of electric vehicle charging stations as part of a nationwide effort to make roads more accessible for EVs.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation issued a request on Tuesday to identify potential EV charging station providers. Eligible providers will be invited to bid on future proposals for charging stations along key routes in Vermont.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program will be awarding Vermont $21.2 million over five years to expand the state’s EV charging network. This program, part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, seeks to expand the national EV charger network by installing “fast charger” stations along major highway routes every 50 miles.

Patrick Murphy, sustainability and innovation project manager at the Agency of Transportation, said, “The goal of that NEVI program is to create a reliable convenient network of fast charging stations for drivers across the country, to help increase the number of electric vehicles in use.”

Murphy said Vermont currently has around 400 EV charging stations, but only 60 of them are fast chargers, and fast chargers are required to get the state up to speed with electric vehicle use.

“Where we have some gaps are really in the fast charging realm so we need more fast charging to really provide that confidence that people need to be able to get into electric vehicles,” Murphy continued.

AOT is developing a list of 15 priority locations, mostly along the I-89 and I-91 corridors, where chargers will be built in phase one of the project. The agency hopes to have all of the phase one stations under contract with charger providers this year, and installed over the next two years. The first of these charging stations will open on Tuesday along I-91 in Bradford.