Approximately $5 billion in funding has been earmarked to create a coast-to-coast system of EV charging stations, the U.S. Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Energy (DOE) announced last month.
The funding is provided by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the DOE announced Feb. 10. The $5 billion will be granted over five years, the announcement states, with $615 to be dispersed in Fiscal Year 2022.
Officials with the DOE and DOT called the nationwide system "an important step towards making electric vehicle (EV) charging accessible to all Americans," in the announcement.
The proposed network of EV charging stations is to be designed along specified Alternative Fuel Corridors, according to the announcement, principally along the Interstate Highway System. Referred to as "the spine of the new national EV charging network," AFCs have been determined in nearly every state in the past six years, the announcement reports.
To receive funding, states must submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan detailing how the state will use its share of NEVI funds in accordance with Federal Highway Administration direction, the announcement states, to provide convenient, affordable and reliable charging stations for all users.
“The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help us win the EV race,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the announcement, "by working with states, labor, and the private sector to deploy a historic nationwide charging network that will make EV charging accessible for more Americans.”
The DOT and DOE also announced that a second grant program will be announced later this year to further expand EV charging access throughout the country, including in rural and economically challenged areas. Individuals can also apply to be an "EV charging fellow" to encourage the use of electric transportation, the announcement reports.
“We are modernizing America’s national highway system for drivers in cities large and small, towns and rural communities, to take advantage of the benefits of driving electric,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Graham said in the announcement. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping states to make electric vehicle charging more accessible by building the necessary infrastructure for drivers across America to save money and go the distance, from coast-to-coast.”
