Nevada further expands electric vehicle infrastructure

New charging station added to Nevada Electric Highway

Courtesy NDOT

Governor Brian Sandoval, the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office of Energy are celebrating the expansion of the U.S. 95 Nevada Electric Highway.

On Wednesday, March 7, the state activated a new electric vehicle charging station at Veterans Memorial Park in Hawthorne. Located at the junction of U.S. 95 and Business U.S. 95 in downtown Hawthorne, the charging station’s one DC charger and one AC level 2 charger offer free charging for electric and hybrid vehicles traveling the U.S. 95 Nevada Electric Highway. The station, installed through a Nevada Department of Transportation contract, is the third state-sponsored charging station on U.S. 95, joining charging stations at Fox Peak Station in Fallon and Eddie’s World gas station in Beatty. Installation was funded in part through license fees assessed on transportation network/ridesharing companies operating in Nevada.

The station’s DC charger has the ability to substantially charge vehicles in less than one hour. The AC level 2 charger typically requires several hours for a full charge. A future charging station is under development in Tonopah. State-sponsored charging stations are also available in certain areas of U.S. 93 as well.

Spearheaded by Governor Sandoval, the Nevada Electric Highway is a partnership between the state, electric utility partners and private entities to expand Nevada’s electric vehicle infrastructure at strategic and cost-effective locations across the state highway system, providing safer, easier travel by electric and hybrid vehicles and reducing “range anxiety.” Nevada is also part of a multi-state initiative, known as the Regional Electric Vehicle Plan for the West or REV West Plan, to develop complementary electric vehicle charging networks on key western interstates and highways. The Federal Highway Administration has also designated I-15 as an alternative fuel corridor, further illustrating the need for electric vehicle infrastructure to connect the region.

Nevada recognizes that electric and alternative fuel vehicles will play a key role in the state’s transportation future. The state’s forward-thinking electric vehicle strategy will help connect the west’s thriving electric vehicle market to tourist destinations in Reno/Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas and beyond.

More information is available at energy.nv.gov.