Rural communities across the U.S. will be able to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure through a new free resource provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The guide, called Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure, will help these communities learn how they can use federal funding earmarked for EV charging stations, the DOT said in a Feb. 2 news release. On the Charging Forward toolkit website, the department noted EVs can be an especially attractive alternative to conventional vehicles in rural parts of the country.

"Drivers in rural areas often have the longest commutes and spend the most money on gas, which means big benefits from having access to electric cars and pickup trucks if they are affordable and easy to charge where they live and drive," Pete Buttigieg, U.S. secretary of transportation, said in the news release. “The investments in the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a national EV charging network are an important step toward ensuring that EVs aren’t a luxury item and that everyone in America can benefit from clean transportation.”

The release of the toolkit precedes the anticipated distribution of $7.5 billion nationwide – which comes from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – to build half a million EV charging stations, according to the DOT. States will receive $4.75 billion, with $2.5 billion to be distributed through a grant program that will ensure the charger distributions support rural charging, improve air quality and increase access in disadvantaged communities, according to the news release.