Gracie WarhurstThe Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded $623 million to projects nationwide that invest in electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations and alternative-fuel infrastructure. The grants provide a jolt for national efforts to build a network of EV charging stations and reduce greenhouse gases.
The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. The grants will fund 47 projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico that will create 7,500 EV charging ports nationwide, the DOT said.
“This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
Half of the funds – $311 million – will go to 36 projects to bring EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure to local communities. The other half will go to 11 roadway projects called Alternative Fuel Corridors to fill the gaps in the current alternative fueling and EV charging network. More than 70% of the funds will go to projects that serve disadvantaged communities, the DOT said.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments received the most funding – $70 million – to build up to five hydrogen fueling stations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
The Maryland Clean Energy Center received $15 million to build 87 EV charging stations in urban, suburban and disadvantaged communities, including the campus of Coppin State University, a historically black college in Baltimore, and 34 other communities with multi-family housing.
Other awards include:
- The County of Contra Costa in California will receive $15 million to build 112 chargers in different locations of the county’s library system.
- Energy Northwest in Washington will receive $15 million to install 52 chargers in both Washington and northern Oregon.
- The city of Mesa, Arizona, will receive $12 million to build 48 EV chargers as well as charging docks and solar canopies at the charging stations.
- The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will receive $10 million to build EV charging stations in disadvantaged communities and rural areas.
- The Chilkoot Indian Association in Alaska will receive $1.4 million to build an EV charging station in Haines, where there are currently no public stations.
There are currently more than 4 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, which help combat the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Making EV charging stations more publicly available is expected to encourage EV use.
The CFI program is just one of several federal and state initiatives to build out a larger EV charging network to provide high speed charging along U.S. highways. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program has also helped bring new charging stations in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Maine.
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