“The initial push nationally is for travel corridors to have charging stations at least every fifty miles,” according to Knoxville blogger Alan Sims. “They must have at least four chargers and they must be within one mile of the travel corridor. Most travel corridors are identified as Interstates, though Tennessee, for example, has also included U.S. Highway 64. Once those corridors are built out, any remaining funds may be directed elsewhere. The cost of each station is approximately $1 million, which is largely infrastructure cost.”

Clean-air and EV advocates are encouraging public input. Here’s an action alert from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy:

“The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) are currently seeking public feedback to inform the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program Plan.

“The NEVI program represents a $5 billion investment from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to provide a network of 500,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations along the nation’s travel corridors to help make cross-country electric travel accessible to all Americans. The charging stations will be along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors designated by the Federal Highway Administration.”

Tennessee must develop and submit an EV infrastructure deployment plan by Aug. 1 to receive the federal funds.

SACE encourages citizens to take this survey to express preferences for EV infrastructure development.