Charging station straggler Indiana to spend $5.5M to catch up

Indiana has been slow to install electric car chargers, but the Hoosier State is now going to give eight electric utilities, including Duke Energy, NIPSCO, and AES Indiana, more than $5.5 million to set up 61 EV fast charging stations. The money will come from the Volkswagen settlement over its Clean Air Act violations.

There are currently only around 40 public fast charging stations in Indiana — with more than half of them in Indianapolis — and 735 charging outlets.

Contrast that with neighboring Michigan, which currently offers 1,506 charging outlets and is adding 88 fast charging stations, and Illinois, which has 2,118 charging outlets and growing.

Kerri Garvin, executive director of Greater Indiana Clean Cities, said [via the Indianapolis Star]:

I would say the state of Indiana has been lacking in EV infrastructure, and I don’t think anyone would argue with that.

This is really important and happening in a lot of other states. It would be a shame to have networks everywhere and then you come to our state and can’t drive across Indiana in your electric car.

Will there still be spots where charging stations are needed? Sure. But this is a very good starting point.

The eight Indiana utilities will provide partial matching dollars for the program, but it’s unknown whether they’ll charge customers for that spend. Charging customers would have to be approved by the Indiana utilities’ oversight body.

The Indiana Energy Association published a preliminary map showing proposed charger corridors:

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management [via the Star]:

The stations will be on all of Indiana’s major highways: I-65, I-70, I-69, I-64, and the I-465 loop. They will also run north and south along US 31 as well as be dotted along southern Indiana’s I-64 and northern Indiana’s I-90. In addition to the few chargers currently out there, most will be no more than 50 to 100 miles apart.

When picking the best locations, the utilities focused on those that are within one mile of an exit, have ample power supply, and have good amenities nearby like a shopping plaza, fuel center, or restaurant. 

All 61 fast charging stations are expected to be complete by early 2023.

Read more: The best (and worst) US states for EV charging

Photo: EVgo

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