That includes a charging station that will be constructed just off I-675 along Miamisburg Centerville Road (Ohio 725) at the Washington Park Plaza shopping center, which is near Sam’s Club, J. Alexander’s Restaurant and Carvers Steaks & Chops among numerous other businesses.
Level 2 chargers, which are more common, can take as long as two to four hours to charge a vehicle depending on the vehicle, its battery, how much power is available at the station and how much power a vehicle can receive. In contrast, these new fast chargers can take care of a vehicle in 20 to 40 minutes.
The addition of the new stations moves Ohio closer to its goal of locating fast chargers every 50 miles throughout the state. Each location will be no more than one mile from the freeway and will include four charger ports with at least 150 kilowatts of power available per port. The stations will also include access to amenities like restrooms and a place to purchase food and beverages.
“As more electric cars and trucks make their way to Ohio roadways, we’re continuing to build the infrastructure needed to enable easy and convenient travel,” DeWine said.
Round 2 stations are expected to begin construction in late 2024 and 2025. Other than the Ohio 725 location and two in the Cincinnati area, most of the 22 Round 2 locations are in Columbus and northern Ohio.
The $16 million NEVI funding will be matched with more than $4 million from the private companies selected to install and operate the new EV charging stations.
The NEVI Award for the local site just east of the Dayton Mall area is $774,007, and the private match is $193,529 to cover the total project cost of $967,536. The proposer is Francis Energy Charging LLC, which is proposer for 14 of the 22 sites.
Ohio’s NEVI program is administered by DriveOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Transportation.
DeWine announced the first round of EV charger locations in last July, which was followed by a first-in-the-nation groundbreaking in October. In December, the first NEVI station in the country opened along I-70 at U.S. 42 in Madison County, making Ohio the first state in the nation to activate a NEVI charging station as part of this program.
The closest local sites of the 23 installed in the first round were:
- Miami County: I-75, Exit 74, at State Route 41 (Main Street) in Troy at Meijer;
- Preble County: I-70, Exit 10, at U.S. 127 near Lewisburg at Pilot Travel Center;
- Warren County; I-75, Exit 36, at State Route 123 in Franklin at Pilot Travel Center;
- Butler County: I-75, Exit 22, Tylersville Road in West Chester Twp. at Meijer.
Charging at existing stations is easy, but one of the challenges that EV motorists sometime face is being able to find a charger when and where they need it, according to Breanna Badanes, managing director of communications and policy for DriveOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Transportation that focuses on emerging transportation technology.
“We do have some existing fast chargers throughout the state, but ... we need more of them,” she said.
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