ODOT picks EV charging companies for first round of federal grants for public fast charging stations

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The ODOT Climate Office has selected EV charging companies for the first round of grants from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. The federal NEVI program funds public EV fast charging stations along major roads throughout Oregon. 

 Here are the selected companies for the first three roads in Oregon’s NEVI program: 

• Interstate 205: Electrify America.
• Interstate 5 south of Eugene: EV Gateway.
• U.S. Highway 97: EV Charging Solutions. 

The rest of the ODOT announcement:

We’ve selected these companies via a competitive process and with an “intent to award,” which means ODOT is still developing final grant agreements with each company.

We expect to have agreements in place before the end of 2024, and we estimate the companies will begin installing NEVI-funded stations in 2025.  

Station locations 

Interstate 205 has two charging station locations: 

1. Fred Meyer in Happy Valley.
2. 76 gas station in Gladstone. 

Interstate 5 south of Eugene has four charging station locations: 

1. O’Reilly Auto Parts in Cottage Grove.
2. Roseburg Marketplace in Roseburg.
3. Sagwal gas station in Wolf Creek.
4. WinCo in Medford. 

U.S. Highway 97 has seven charging station locations:

1. E Street in Shaniko. (Precise location TBD.)
2. Dairy Queen in Madras
3. Dairy Queen in Bend
4. La Pine Chamber of Commerce in La Pine
5. Eagle Crate Lake Inn in Chemult.
6. KLA-MO-YA Casino in Chiloquin
7. The Growler Guys in Klamath Falls

Important: These are proposed station locations and are subject to change until ODOT signs final grant agreements with each company later this year.  

Station design and amenities 

• The stations will have at least four DC fast charging ports each. Each port will deliver a minimum of 150kW of power, even when ports are used simultaneously.
• All stations will have CCS connectors.*
• All stations will have parking accessible to people with disabilities, and several will feature “pull through” parking for vehicles towing trailers.
• The stations will be located near options for food, water and restrooms.
• Some stations will have canopies for shade and rain protection, while others will feature security cameras. All stations will have overhead lighting.

Check out the Oregon NEVI webpage for more details about the stations along each road and our future plans for the NEVI program throughout the state.

*We’re working with our intended award recipients to ensure NACS (SAE J3400) connectors will be included in NEVI-funded stations once it becomes UL listed and standardized. 

What’s next 

We plan to launch the second NEVI funding opportunity in the first half of 2025. Roads included in that round are Interstates 84 and 82, and U.S. 20. 

About the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program 

The NEVI program is a federally funded program that will establish a nationwide network of public EV fast charging stations in all 50 states along major highways and interstates.  

Oregon will receive $52 million over five years from the NEVI program. In total, we anticipate NEVI will fund about 50 public EV fast charging stations in Oregon. 

NEVI and other public EV charging infrastructure programs are helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Our data says that by 2050, we'll reduce transportation emissions in Oregon by about 60%. Learn how on the Oregon transportation emissions website.