CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that the Federal Highway Administration has approved its plan to build a reliable electric vehicle charging network throughout the state. The State of Illinois Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan addresses potential challenges and proposes locations for charging stations to ensure motorists can confidently traverse the state in electric vehicles.
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“Because of my administration’s work on the nation-leading Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act, Illinois stands at the forefront of the emerging electric vehicle industry,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This funding serves as a vital complement to that work and will ensure we meet our goal of putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. In every corner of the state, we have invested in our infrastructure and our workers, making it clear to vehicle, charging station, and auto parts manufacturers that Illinois is the best place in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle.”
"Illinois is meeting the moment by paving a way forward for electric vehicles on our roads," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. "We are fulfilling our commitment to cleaner, greener energy and travel across the state so all communities can see and feel the impact. Today's announcement is a major step forward in that mission, and Illinois will continue to show how investing in innovation and the people who drive it will take us far.”
“Deploying public charging infrastructure that provides convenient, accessible, reliable and equitable charging throughout the state is crucial to Gov. JB Pritzker’s goal of a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “Because electric vehicles generate no tailpipe emissions, they are key to reducing air pollution and mitigating the effects of climate change. This plan puts us on the path for a more sustainable future.”
Illinois’ plan provides a framework for implementing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, a provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Illinois will receive more than $148 million in federal funding from NEVI over the next five years to build out a network of public EV charging stations across the state.
In accordance with NEVI requirements, funding will be used to build EV charging stations at least every 50 miles along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors. The stations will be located no more than one mile off the designated corridor and will allow four average-range vehicles to fully charge at once in less than 30 minutes. Preliminary estimates indicate a need for a minimum of 20 stations. A map of proposed sites is included in the Illinois Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan.
Successful implementation of the NEVI program will require collaboration across government agencies, the public sector and private entities. IDOT is working closely with other state agencies on important issues such as workforce development, cybersecurity and ensuring equitable deployment of charging infrastructure. IDOT is also seeking input from a diverse range of stakeholders, including Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment manufacturers, labor unions, potential site hosts, electric utilities and municipalities.
As a next step in implementing the EV Infrastructure plan, IDOT is developing a Request for Information to gather information from potential vendors of equipment and host sites for EV chargers.
Finally, IDOT will be hosting stakeholder meetings throughout the remainder of 2022. These meetings will be open to the public where people can learn more about the program and provide feedback. More detail on these meetings will become available as they are scheduled. Recording of previously held public meetings can be found on IDOT’s website.
As of June, there were 50,994 electric vehicles registered in Illinois and 184 public charging ports throughout the state.
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