The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program
Opportunities and Training Needs for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations


Contributed by Beth Kallestad, MnDOT Sustainability Planner


The clean energy transition is ramping up in Minnesota and across the nation.  This is great news for anyone in the electrical field as it is bringing lots of business opportunities.  One of these opportunities is the installation and maintenance of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations.  For example, there is $68 million in funding through the National Electric Vehicle (NEVI) program coming to Minnesota over the next few years to install fast charging stations (150kW minimum per charging port) along the interstates and other roadways.  They will be located on private land, owned, operated and maintained by third-party entities. MnDOT will be doing a competitive solicitation process this fall to choose site host/installer teams for the first round of stations on I-94 and I-35.
 
Recently adopted federal EV Station Standards (found in the US Code of Federal Regulations, 23 CFR 680.106) require that EV charging stations installed with federal funds must have “qualified technicians” who either have:

  1. Certification from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) OR
  2. Graduation or a continuing education certificate from a registered apprenticeship program for electricians that includes charger-specific training and is developed as a part of a national guideline standard approved by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Department of Transportation.
Per the EVITP website (EVITP.org), there are 40 Electrical contractor firms certified in Minnesota. This 20-hour training can be taken online and is offered as part of some registered apprenticeship training in Minnesota.  The cost is less than $300.

For Electrical contractors interested in finding site host/installer teams for the DC Fast Charging stations through MnDOT, we encourage you to sign up for out Interested Partners List by completing this short form.  MnDOT will share the information provided on the EV Infrastructure Plan webpage in an Excel spreadsheet format that will be updated the 15th of each month.

If you have questions or would like to learn more check out MnDOT’s EV Infrastructure Plan webpage and sign-up for updates via email.