WEST LEBANON — A nonprofit tasked with building electric vehicle charging stations across America has set its sights on Route 12A as a possible home for new charging stations aimed at serving commuters along Interstate 89.

The move comes after similar plans for downtown Lebanon were abandoned due to regulatory hurdles.

Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, hopes to build four fast vehicle charging stations near Walmart in West Lebanon.

If approved, the stations would provide an electric vehicle with 60-80 miles of range after plugging in for just 20 minutes.

Lebanon Zoming Administrator Tim Corwin said the project will require a building permit to move forward.

Electrify America spokesman Mike Moran declined to comment on the proposal Wednesday. However, city officials applauded the move, saying it could bring additional shoppers and diners to Lebanon’s commercial hub.

The stations will encourage people “who may not initially plan to stop in Lebanon” to visit Route 12A, City Manager Shaun Mulholland said.

“As electric vehicles proliferate, we’re going to see them all over the place like we see gas stations now, just without the environmental issues that go along with gas stations,” he added.

While U.S. electric vehicle sales rose throughout the past decade — including an 80% jump in 2018 — the market for the cars has “slowed” over the last two years, according to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

That dip can be attributed to a combination of cheaper gas, deregulation and the phasing out of tax credits, the consulting firm said in a July article.

Still, New Hampshire’s existing electric vehicles face a shortage of infrastructure. While 1,123 new electric vehicles were registered in the Granite State in 2018, there were only 113 public charging stations for commuters to stop at, according to a July 2019 state report.

Meanwhile, the $4.6 million in Volkswagen diesel-manipulation settlement money that New Hampshire devoted to new electric vehicle charging stations in 2018 has so far failed to produce any new stations, according to NH Business Review.

To help remedy that shortage, Electrify America asked the city last year for a 10 year-lease to install charging stations in downtown Lebanon, citing the area’s status along a “key route” it hopes to invest in as part of its compensation for Volkswagen’s “dieselgate” settlement.

In its most recent investment plan, Electrify America proposed spending $20 million to build 28 additional stations, including two along Interstate 89 between Concord and Burlington.

However, that initial proposal was killed in August, when Electrify America withdrew its plan to build across the street from the CCBA’s Witherell Recreation Center, citing regulatory hurdles from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

Lebanon officials say they’re glad that Electrify America was able to pivot to a new site within the city, but are somewhat dismayed that the downtown spot didn’t go forward.

Unlike Route 12A, which already sees traffic from the nearby interstates and is home to national chains and big-box stores, a downtown charging station had the potential to draw people to local shops and restaurants, they said.

“I think we’re lucky to have a site location in Lebanon,” said Meghan Butts, who leads a committee exploring potential charging sites in Lebanon.

But, she said, officials are still looking at drawing in a partner to develop stations downtown.

According to Butts and Mulholland, those partners could include Electrify America, which will start a third round of investment in 2022.

Electrify America recently applied for a variance asking to do away with a handful spaces at the 420-space property that also is home to Price Chopper and other retail stores. The same 22-acre lot also houses a group of Tesla supercharger stations.

However, the company withdrew its variance request late last week when it “found a way to build the charging facility without losing any parking spaces and with only a modest loss of existing landscaping,” Corwin said in an email on Thursday.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.