NRECA Research has been awarded over $2 million from the Department of Energy to help electric cooperatives speed up the development of accessible, dependable electric vehicle charging stations in rural areas. 

NRECA Research—the research and development arm of the association—and DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy have entered into an agreement to collaborate on a project called REWIRED, or Rural Electric Workflow Improvements for Rapid Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Deployment. 

The DOE funding, which continues for a three-year period ending in May 2027, will help pay for two major tools that co-ops can use to streamline the way they work with local developers to create EV charging infrastructure, said Jennah Denney, NRECA’s EV strategy and solutions manager. 

The first tool will be a comprehensive guidebook designed to help co-ops establish a consistent process across their territories. This guidebook will simplify paperwork and application procedures for developers looking to create EV charging networks, making it easier and more efficient to deploy. 

“Some of the biggest issues the guidebook will address are reducing lengthy timelines, speeding up slow approvals processes and making the interconnection process more transparent,” Denney said. “The ultimate goals are improved grid stability, reducing costs to our members and increasing member satisfaction.” 

The second tool will be an online dashboard that co-ops can use to assess the impact of future EV growth on their distribution transformer loads. It also will help co-ops determine—through growth and load modeling—whether they can accommodate EV growth with their existing infrastructure or if improvements need to be made to their systems. 

Co-ops will be able to input local data, such as EV penetration rates and feeder data, to better assess their specific needs, Denney said. 

"This tool can expedite the approval process for selecting charging station sites by significantly reducing the time required by a co-op planning engineer," she added. 

To help guide development of the tools, the REWIRED team is seeking volunteers from co-ops in all 10 NRECA regions throughout the country to serve on the Cooperative Advisory Board for the project. 

They hope to attract leaders from a diverse array of co-ops, including from some that have already been dealing with increased EV loads and have experience and advice to share. 

Co-op employees who wish to serve on the Cooperative Advisory Board for the REWIRED project must fill out an application by Aug. 30.