HUMBOLDT — A high-powered electric vehicle charging station could be on the horizon for Humboldt.
Council members unanimously agreed Monday night to pursue a federal grant specific for developing electric vehicle charging stations in rural communities.
The federal grant would provide 80% of the expense of constructing the charging station and a private Oklahoma firm, Francis Energy, would pay the bulk of the rest.
City Administrator Cole Herder said he first learned of the opportunity in April at a Kansas League of Municipalities meeting, but initially didn’t think Humboldt qualified. Further research proved otherwise, prompting Herder to submit a proposal to apply for the grant. He only recently learned of that success, which led him to discussing the issue with Humboldt Council members to get their blessing to pursue the grant, which has a June13 deadline.
Herder said the charging station would set Humboldt apart from neighboring communities.
“I don’t believe there’s anyone else looking at this,” he said. “We have a whole team working on the application,” including a grant writer on loan from Francis Energy.
The federal grant is for communities considered “non-corridor communities,” meaning they are not along an interstate highway, Herder said.
Herder said the federal government’s goal is to have electric vehicle charging stations cover the nation, including its hills and hollers.
“The federal government is paving the way for electric cars. They want to make sure rural areas don’t fall 10 years behind like we did with broadband,” noting that some rural areas still lack internet access.
THE REQUEST is for a DC Fast Charging station that can accommodate four vehicles at two charging ports. Such stations are typically sought out by long-distance travelers. The Humboldt station would accommodate 75 kilowatts, meaning that after 30 minutes, electric vehicles are good to go a distance of 100 or more miles.
“I think it will be huge for Humboldt to be a halfway point between Kansas City and Joplin,” Herder said.
Council member Paul Cloutier added, “It puts us on the map in a way we have not been before.”
Herder said the closest stations that offer this magnitude of charging are in Nevada, Mo., and Pittsburg.
“Nevada has figured this out,” he said, adding the town has several stations of various capacities.
Eighty percent of public charging ports are Level 2, meaning one hour of charging provides about 25 miles of driving.
Most electric vehicle owners have Level 1 charging abilities at their homes where all that is necessary is a three-prong 120 volt outlet. Less than 2 percent of public charging stations are Level 1, where one hour of charging provides a 5-mile range.
