Curious Iowa: Who pays for EV charging stations?

Iowa is poised to get a lot more electric vehicle charging stations along interstate highways starting next year.

The Iowa Department of Transportation last month released a notice of funding opportunity for companies, utility firms, nonprofits or teams that include government entities to apply for reimbursement to build or expand charging stations at interchanges on Interstate-80, I-380, I-35 and I-29.

This notice comes at a perfect time for The Gazette to answer two questions that came into our Curious Iowa inbox: Who is paying for the installation of electric charging equipment for electric cars? And who is paying for the electricity to charge? Is it the taxpayer?

Curious Iowa is a series from The Gazette that seeks to answer Iowans’ questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here.

Iowa has 348 charging locations with just under 800 ports, the U.S. Department of Energy reported online. This is up about 9 percent since late June. This network of chargers, built over the last 10 years, is a mix of those paid for with public and private money.

About two-thirds of Iowa’s charging sites are Level 2, which use between 208 to 240 volts and add 12 to 80 miles per hour of charging. The rest are Level 3, or fast chargers, which use between 400 to 800 volts to charge at a rate of 2 to 30 miles per minute of charging.

Public, private support for EV charging

Many businesses, such as grocery stores and conveniences stores, have paid to add level 2 chargers to their parking lots because they expect customers will shop while their EV is charging. Level 3 charging often comes with a fee, which may cover electricity or help the retailer pay for the cost of installing and maintaining the station.

Tesla offers more than 50,000 Supercharger stations across the nation, including about 16 in Iowa, according to the company’s website. These stations can charge up to 200 miles in 15 minutes. Tesla charges customers from 25 cents to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the Supercharger location, Motortrend reported, which is about double what you’d spend to charge at home.

Most of Tesla’s Superchargers aren’t compatible with EVs by other companies.

In some cases, cities and counties have partnered with EV manufacturers and businesses to install charging stations in Iowa. In 2016, Park Cedar Rapids partnered with DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton to add two charging stations — one for Teslas and one for other EVs — to the Convention Center parking ramp in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Tesla paid for the installation, while Park CR agreed to absorb the electricity costs for charging EVs. Electric vehicle owners who want to charge in Cedar Rapids ramps pay an hourly rate for parking.

Iowa to award $51 million for charging stations

One of the things the Curious Iowa reader wanted to know is whether taxpayers are paying for EV charging infrastructure or electricity. The answer is yes. Federal taxes are contributing to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, which is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure law signed in 2021.

Iowa learned in 2022 the state was eligible for $51.4 million through 2026 to expand EV charging capacity along Iowa’s four interstate highways.

“Based on the amount of funding we have available, we'll have enough to build out the four designated fuel corridors in Iowa,” said Garrett Pedersen, Systems Planning Bureau director for the Iowa DOT.

The federal program seeks to have charging stations every 50 miles and no more than one mile off an exit on I-80, I-380, I-35 and I-29. To qualify for reimbursement, applicants must provide at least four charging ports that can providing continuous charging at 150 kW at the same time, according to the notice of funding opportunity.

Applicants also must be prepared to pay at least 20 percent of the cost of the project.

“They have some stake in the development of the site,” Pedersen said. “Once the development is complete and we can confirm it meets federal requirements, we can reimburse them up to 80 percent.”

The DOT has prioritized some zones along the interstates for the first wave of funding. In Eastern Iowa, these include most of I-80 between Iowa City and Davenport; and around Cedar Rapids and between Brandon and Waterloo on I-380.

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Some states are limiting funding just to priority zones, but Iowa also could accept proposals for charging sites in other locations, Pedersen said.

“We wanted to let the market dictate where good locations might be,” he said. “They (applicants) will get a slight priority bump on our scoring if they are in those zones. But we will consider good applications outside those zones.“

The DOT expects to finalize awards next summer, which means some new charging stations could go online next fall or winter, he said.

“It's more likely it could be into the next year,” Pedersen said, referring to 2025. “We have heard there are some supply chain concerns with some of the equipment that would be needed.”

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The Gazette will continue Curious Iowa in 2024, publishing stories every Monday. Tell us what you’d like us to investigate next.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com