*** The United States Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a letter on Thursday, February 6 notifying State Departments of Transportation that all National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program Guidances have been rescinded and all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment (EVID) Plans have been suspended. As a result, ARDOT has closed the current Request for Proposals (RFP). ***

*** Additionally, no new Federal funding obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program. The 19 awarded projects from the first RFP round will not be able to move forward with agreement execution at this time. ***

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Program Information

The Arkansas Department of Transportation’s (ARDOT) Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment (EVID) Program is a competitive procurement program charged with distributing NEVI Formula Program funds. During this first year of the EVID Program, funding will be granted to eligible EV charging station projects that fill gaps on Arkansas Interstates and Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs) leading to fully built out certification by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Arkansas’ initial allocation of NEVI Formula Program funds are directed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) rules for use in first building EV charging stations along Arkansas’ FHWA designated AFCs. The Arkansas Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan and other resources can be viewed at ardot.gov/evplan.

ARDOT’s EVID program is being released through a Request for Proposals (RFP) to award NEVI Formula Program funding to eligible entities to install, own, operate, maintain, and report on NEVI Formula Program compliant EV charging stations throughout the state.  Proposals will be evaluated using criteria outlined in the Responsiveness to Review Criteria Narrative component of the 2024 RFP Submission Package.

Reimbursement Program

NEVI Formula Program funds will be awarded on a competitive basis and disbursed on a reimbursement basis.  The program provides for an 80 percent federal share and 20% non-federal share, including private funding covering each project’s share of ARDOT’s Program Administration Costs, for each project.  The main priority in allocating funding is for the construction of EV charging stations. Eligible EVID Program project costs are defined as follows:

• Costs for pre-construction work, including environmental clearance documents, design, and permitting.
• Costs of minor grid updates (work necessary to connect charging station to the electric grid distribution network) including:
  • Costs for minor extensions or upgrades to existing power lines.
  • Costs to acquire and install on-site electric service equipment (e.g., power meter, transformer, switch gear), including shipping fees and taxes.
• Costs of sureties in the form of Performance bond(s) for 100% and Payment bond(s) for 80% of total project costs extending for the full life of the project contract terms.
• Costs to procure and install new NEVI compliant EV charging station related hardware and software.
• Costs to procure and install, repair, upgrade, or replace existing EV charging equipment to meet NEVI minimum standards and requirements, including costs to upgrade existing EV charging stations to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
  • Software upgrades are considered eligible construction costs when they enhance existing EV charging station hardware so that it conforms to mandatory NEVI project reporting and compliance requirements.
• Construction costs for EV charging station installation (as defined under 23 U.S.C. 101(a)(4)), including site restoration after installation, directly related to the EV charging station.
• Costs to install onsite signage for user wayfinding to EV charging stations.
• Fixed operating and maintenance costs (up to five years after the charging station is operational) limited to:
  • Charging equipment lease fees (if proposer chooses lease option for charging equipment rather than purchase option). The lease costs are only eligible if paid in advance through a contract.
  • Cellular network fees, internet service fees, or similar fees/costs for EV charging station data sharing. This includes, to the extent practicable, costs related to the specific data sharing requirements of this program as well as costs of data sharing on all chargers and charging activities on the EV network funded by this program. Networking costs are only eligible if paid in advance through a fixed contract.
  • Hardware and software maintenance and repair costs, including service agreements with third-party contractors and charging equipment manufacturers or warrantors. Service agreements shall be fixed price and paid in advance for the five-year terms of operation of EV charging stations under this program.
• Construction project management costs directly related to EV charging stations.
• Costs of shipping fees and taxes for eligible items.

Program Eligibility

The NEVI Formula funding is restricted to use on projects that are directly associated with the charging of an electric vehicle. It can only be used for EV charging infrastructure that is open to the public or to authorized commercial motor vehicle operators from more than one company.

NEVI Formula Program funding will be used to fund EV charging station infrastructure Proposals that (1) meet all Federal NEVI and ARDOT NEVI Program Requirements and (2) are located on designated EV AFC Corridors. ARDOT goals for the Program are initially focused on building out AFCs.  The current EV charging service gaps can be viewed through an interactive webmap at www.gis.ardot.gov.

Program Funding

The NEVI Formula Program is a $5 billion program established by the IIJA to build a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations along federally designated AFCs by 2030. The NEVI Formula Program allocated funding to ARDOT from 2022 to 2026 to strategically deploy EV infrastructure and increase access to charging stations across Arkansas. ARDOT will receive $54.1 million in NEVI program funding over five years.

Who is an Eligible Proposer

1. Registered Utility in the State of Arkansas, or
2. Business registered with the Arkansas Secretary of State, or
3. Non-profit entity registered in the State of Arkansas (as defined in Title 26 US Code Section 501(c))
4. Tribal Organization (as defined in Title 25 US Code Section 5304 (l)).

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