Love’s Travel Stops was recently awarded $4.8 million in federal funding to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at eight of its locations in two states. The travel stop and Trillium Energy Solutions, a member of the Love’s Family of Companies, which designs, builds, and maintains clean fueling stations, were selected as part of an historic investment through the Federal Highway Administration's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to build an EV charging infrastructure network in Pennsylvania and Colorado.
Love’s and Trillium were awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to install EV chargers at four existing locations in Slippery Rock, Miffinville, Brookville, and Jonestown, Pa. for a combined total of $2.6 million in funding. The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) are investing $2.2 million in State and NEVI funding towards Love’s EV charging projects at existing stations in Buena Vista, Eads, Parachute, and Hudson, Colo.
“Truck stops and travel stops are well-positioned to play a key role in building out electric vehicle charging in Pennsylvania and Colorado, not only because of the existing infrastructure footprint, but also because of the amenities and services provided at these locations,” said Ryan Erickson, VP of Trillium Energy Solutions.
“As the nation begins widescale adoption of EVs, two important factors for successful planning include on-site support and available footprint to build out additional charging infrastructure,” said Kim Okafor, general manager of zero emission for Trillium Energy Solutions. “With more than 640 locations nationwide, Love’s Travel Stops are in a prime position to support transportation departments in rolling out NEVI projects state-by-state.”
Pennsylvania and Colorado NEVI Awards
- PennDOT recently announced the first round of conditional awards to fund 54 projects in 35 counties to expand access to and reliability of EV charging in Pennsylvania. The 54 projects conditionally awarded amount to a total federal investment of $33.8 million for the first round of NEVI funding.
- Through its Direct Current Fast Charging Plazas program, CEO also recently announced $17 million in conditional awards for 36 projects that will contribute to the expansion of Colorado’s existing network of 871 fast-chargers by more than 20%, adding 188 publicly accessible chargers in the first round to include NEVI and State funding.
The NEVI program was established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to provide $5 billion over five years for states to deploy direct current (DC) fast EV chargers along highway corridors. The NEVI program is aimed at building out a national system of EV chargers to connect states and help EV drivers travel longer distances with the confidence they can access safe and reliable EV chargers.
Love’s Travel Stops is the nation’s leading travel stop network with 644 locations in 42 states that remains family-owned and operated since 1964. The company plans to grow its EV charging footprint from 20 locations to hundreds over the next several years. For more than 20 years, Trillium has been a leading provider of renewable fuels and alternative and innovative energy solutions specializing in design, building and operating alternative fueling stations and provides 24/7 maintenance services.
