The Minnesota Department of Transportation has up to $41.18 million in federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula funds on offer for a third round of public fast-charging projects. Proposals are due at 4 p.m. Central time on Nov. 2, 2026, 13 days after Oct. 20. The solicitation is still open and nothing has been awarded. MnDOT says it intends to make up to 40 awards across 74 eligible clusters in seven of its districts, and it tentatively expects to announce conditional awards by Dec. 30, 2026.
The Round 3A Notice of Grant Opportunity/Request for Proposals was advertised on Aug. 26. Since then MnDOT has answered applicants' questions in a running document, adding its last entries on Oct. 6 and Oct. 12, after the question window closed at 5 p.m. on Oct. 9. Those answers settle how strictly site locations are bound, whether adapters count toward connector rules and how long chargers have to be maintained.
How the money is divided
The RFP divides the round by MnDOT district. Each district has a maximum number of projects, which matches its count of eligible clusters, along with a total project cost and a federal share. Together the districts add up to $51.48 million in total project cost, and the federal portion of that is 80%.
| MnDOT district | Max projects | Total project cost | Federal share |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 15 | $9,157,500 | $7,326,000 |
| District 2 | 12 | $6,682,500 | $5,346,000 |
| District 3 | 9 | $9,405,000 | $7,524,000 |
| District 4 | 8 | $5,197,500 | $4,158,000 |
| District 6 | 9 | $6,435,000 | $5,148,000 |
| District 7 | 9 | $7,425,000 | $5,940,000 |
| District 8 | 12 | $7,177,500 | $5,742,000 |
| Total | 74 | $51,480,000 | $41,184,000 |
The district maximums add up to more projects than MnDOT plans to fund, and it will make no more than one award per cluster. Applications are scored cluster by cluster, and the highest-scoring application in each cluster is selected. Primary clusters get priority; secondary clusters are considered only after primary locations have been evaluated and ranked. Each application can cover only one site, and an applicant can submit only one application per cluster.
Applicants can ask for up to 80% of eligible costs and must put up a match of at least 20%. No single applicant can receive more than 30% of the round's total federal funds. One of the scoring criteria asks how an applicant's operations and maintenance plan will support 97% uptime, and the RFP sets 97% annual uptime per port as a requirement under 23 CFR 680.
What the Q&A settled
Several answers in MnDOT's Round 3a questions and answers affect where stations can go and what equipment is acceptable.
- Cluster boundaries are fixed. In answers to questions 14 and 22, MnDOT says anything outside the identified clusters will not be considered for this round: "There is no flexibility in this funding round."
- A possible Round 3b. In answers to questions 3, 6 and 22, MnDOT says that if it has funding left after Round 3a, it will consider a Round 3b in which expanding the cluster coverage areas could be evaluated.
- Adapters. Question 8 confirms that permanently attached adapters are acceptable for meeting the CCS1 and NACS connector requirements.
- Accessibility. Question 11 confirms that each site needs at least one ADA-compliant parking space with access to EV charging.
- Five-year maintenance. The Oct. 6 answer to question 21 says grantees must maintain the chargers for five years from the initial date of operation, under 23 CFR 680.106(i).
- Labor and contracting. Construction and maintenance work must be reported for prevailing wage, but the electric utility, as owner of the transformer, is not subject to it (questions 18 and 19). MnDOT will give no preference points to veteran-owned businesses (question 9) or women-owned businesses (question 16), saying the federal funding precludes preferences for disadvantaged businesses.
- Site owners. The Oct. 12 answer to question 23 says that when the site owner differs from one location to another, applicants must update that information on the General Technical Application form for each location.
Where Round 3a fits
The round is open to roads beyond Minnesota's original alternative-fuel corridors. According to the RFP, the Federal Highway Administration approved the state's 2025 EV plan on Sept. 11, 2025. MnDOT then asked FHWA in December 2025 for "fully built out" status, which was approved and lets the state use NEVI funds on other roadways. MnDOT's NEVI program page lists eight operational locations from Rounds 1 and 2 as of Aug. 6, 2026, including Burnsville at I-35 exit 88B and Alexandria at I-94 exit 100, with other awarded sites in pre-construction or construction.
Timeline
- Aug. 26, 2026: MnDOT advertises the Round 3a RFP and opens the application window.
- Sept. 23, 2026: MnDOT holds a webinar on preparing applications; recordings and transcripts are posted on the program page.
- Sept. 29, 2026: MnDOT holds a webinar on what it expects from grantees after awards.
- Oct. 9, 2026: The question period closes.
- Nov. 2, 2026, 4 p.m. Central: Applications are due.
- Late Dec. 2026 to Jan. 2027: MnDOT expects to announce conditional awards, tentatively by Dec. 30.
What It Means for Drivers
Round 3a has not produced any new chargers yet. Proposals are still being prepared, and no Round 3a site has been selected. Until awards are made and stations are built, the Round 1 and 2 locations MnDOT lists as operational are the state's NEVI-funded fast chargers.
The Round 1 and 2 locations on MnDOT's list sit along I-35, I-90 and I-94. Round 3a targets locations near U.S. and state highways where there is a lack of fast-charging sites. The eligible clusters include places such as Baudette, Ely, Grand Marais, Hallock, Park Rapids, Pipestone, Willmar and Winona. Drivers who travel those routes can see every eligible area on MnDOT's online cluster map, linked from the program page.
Stations funded in this round will have to meet MnDOT's CCS1 and NACS connector requirements, though one of the two may be provided by a permanently attached adapter. A town outside the mapped clusters will not get a station from this round; it could be considered only if MnDOT holds a Round 3b. MnDOT says the Dec. 30 award date depends on the volume of applications and that it will publish updates.
