Biden administration awards $632M for EV charging in new funding round
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set aside $2.5 billion for underserved and rural areas.
Biden administration awards $632M for EV charging
The federal government's Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced on Thursday $632 million in grants to fund clean vehicle infrastructure.
Twenty-two states along with Puerto Rico will be the recipients of this first round of funding from the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program, which started accepting applications in March 2023.
Investing in Clean Vehicle Infrastructure
Although US carbon emissions fell last year, most of that was achieved through much cleaner energy generation. But when it comes to transportation's contribution to our annual carbon impact, that line is sadly still going up.
Which is why it was encouraging that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 included $7.5 billion for clean vehicle infrastructure.
Allocation of Funds
Two-thirds of the $7.5 billion was set aside for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program. That $5 billion is being spent mostly on DC fast-charging infrastructure, mostly at regular intervals along highway corridors, but also on charger reliability.
Rather than paying for the chargers directly, the federal government is awarding the money to states and metropolitan planning organizations the way it does with other highway formula funds.
Funding for Underserved and Rural Areas
The other $2.5 billion was allocated for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program. Unlike the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, CFI has been open to a wider pool of applications, including local governments and public-private partnerships looking to fund clean vehicle infrastructure in underserved or rural areas.
For this round of $632 million in grants, more than 70 percent of the funds will be spent in disadvantaged communities, according to the Joint Office.
