Nation continues buildout of EV charging infrastructure via $521M in grant awards

The federal government on Tuesday announced $521 million in grant awards that will help the nation continue building out electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure across 29 states, eight federally recognized tribes, and the District of Columbia.

“This investment puts public dollars in the hands of states, tribes, and communities to build a more accessible national charging network,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “It will deliver good-paying local jobs while giving Americans more transportation options no matter their geography or income and allow those looking for a new vehicle to more confidently take advantage of tax credits to purchase new and used EVs.”

The grants are being made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $2.5-billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program and a 10 percent set-aside from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

Together, these programs have spurred private investments in growing the nation’s EV charging network and are actively deploying chargers across the country to ensure more drivers can charge their EVs where they live, work, and shop, while also supporting longer trips, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration.

The new EV infrastructure — which includes the deployment of more than 9,200 EV charging ports — will increase access and reliability to communities across the country and provide EV charging to light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways, DOT said.

“The Biden-Harris administration has taken action to ensure that America leads the EV revolution, and the historic infrastructure package includes resources to support a nationwide EV charger network so that all drivers have an accessible, reliable, and convenient way to charge their vehicles,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Aug. 27.

“The awards that we’re announcing today will build on this important work and help ensure that the cost savings, health and climate benefits, and jobs of the EV future are secured for Americans across the country,” Buttigieg added.

Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, DOT says that the number of publicly available EV chargers has doubled, with more than 192,000 publicly available charging ports with roughly 1,000 new public chargers being added each week.

This progress, says DOT, is a direct result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and its impact on private investments for EV charging infrastructure.

“Building new charging infrastructure is already creating good-paying union jobs and modernizing transportation in a way that cleans up the air our kids breathe,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we are accelerating private investment to do just that and, at the same time, increasing our capacity to manufacture these technologies in the United States.”

Additionally, the EV infrastructure buildout aligns with the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy investing in EV charging for trucks along one of the nation’s largest freight corridors in America.

“As we build out the EV charging network on our highways, we are also investing in local communities, rural, urban and tribal alike,” U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said. “Today’s grants are a critical part of ensuring every American can find a charger as easily as a gas station, which will decrease pollution from our roadways, lower costs for families, and help people get to where they need to go efficiently.”

Of the total investment amount, $321 million will be allocated for 41 “community” projects that expand EV charging infrastructure within communities across the country, while $200 million will go toward 10 “corridor” fast-charging projects that build out the national charging and alternative-fueling network along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

“As we reach this important milestone in building out the national EV charging network, FHWA remains steadfast in our continued work supporting the deployment of hundreds of thousands of EV chargers over the next several years,” said Shailen Bhatt, FHWA administrator. “The EV charging and alternative fueling projects receiving awards today will deliver clean transportation in communities nationwide and put America on a path to lead the world in zero-emission transportation technology while creating good-paying jobs and reducing our carbon footprint.”

The awards also support President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims for 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments to flow to disadvantaged communities, with over half of the funding going to sites located in disadvantaged communities.

For example, one of the community project selections in this round of grants includes nearly $15 million awarded to the City of Milwaukee, which will install EV chargers at 53 sites citywide. During the site selection process, the city prioritized sites in areas that lack existing EV infrastructure, low-to-moderate income communities, and neighborhoods with high ratios of multifamily housing units.

Corridor project selections in this round of grants also include almost $11.8 million awarded to the City of Atlanta to install a DC Fast Charging Hub at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport with 50 DC fast chargers. The hub will provide charging for rental car companies, ride-share drivers, airport shuttles for hotels, employees, the city’s growing electric fleet of light- to heavy-duty vehicles, as well as regional and local EV drivers coming to the airport or driving along the nearby major highway systems.

The project also aims to improve asthma-related issues in predominantly black and underserved neighborhoods and would engage underserved communities to ensure widespread adoption of EVs, said the FHWA.

A full list of grant recipients can be found here .

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