Funding will deploy chargers in communities and along major travel corridors, while promoting American jobs and leadership in EV charging

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced $623 million in grants to help build out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the U.S., which will create American jobs and ensure more drivers can charge their electric vehicles where they live, work, and shop. This is a critical part of the Biden Administration’s goal of building out a convenient, affordable, reliable and made-in-America national network of EV chargers, including at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030 ensuring that EVs are made in America with American workers.

Under President Biden’s leadership, EV sales have more than quadrupled, the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by nearly 70 percent, and more than 4 million EVs are now on the road. Spurred by the President’s historic investments, private companies have announced more than $155 billion in the EV and battery supply chain under the Biden-Harris Administration. EVs are critical to our rapid and equitable transition to clean transportation systems, producing zero tailpipe emissions, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions—major contributors to climate change and key contributors to respiratory ailments.

The grants being announced today are made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, a competitive funding program, and will fund 47 EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, including construction of approximately 7,500 EV charging ports. The CFI program complements the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program to build the “backbone” of high-speed EV chargers along our nation’s highways. Thanks to the NEVI program, new charging stations in Ohio and New York have opened, and states like Pennsylvania and Maine have broken ground.

“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution—securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “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.”

As part of today’s announcements, the Federal Highway Administration is awarding $311 million to 36 “community” projects, including two Indian Tribes in Alaska and Arizona. These projects invest in EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities, including at convenient and high-use locations like schools, parks, libraries, multi-family housing, and more.

Another $312 million in funding will go to 11 “corridor” recipients whose projects are located along roadways designated as Alternative Fuel Corridors. These projects will fill gaps in the core national charging and alternative-fueling network.

The CFI Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. More than 70% of the CFI funding announced today will support project sites in disadvantaged communities.

“Every community across the nation deserves access to convenient and reliable clean transportation,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris Administration is bringing an accessible, made-in-America charging network into thousands of communities while cutting the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis.”

“From my time working at the local level, I know that finding electric vehicle charging in a community is different from finding charging along highways,” said U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg. “USDOT is proud to make an investment that will provide Americans with convenient, straightforward charging options in their communities.”

“The Federal Highway Administration is pleased to announce these grants that will bring EV charging and alternative fuels to people and communities all across the nation,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “These investments through the CFI Program will grow our national EV charging network, support President Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050 and promote opportunity for all Americans to enjoy the benefits of EV charging.”

Project selections in this round of grants include:

• $10 million to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to build EV charging stations for residents in multi-family housing in disadvantaged communities and rural areas. The project also will focus on areas near transit stations to encourage the use of shared transportation services such as electric carshare and rideshare options.
   
• $15 million to the Maryland Clean Energy Center to build 87 electric vehicle charging stations in urban, suburban and low- and moderate-income communities across the state. Proposed sites include Coppin State University, an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in Baltimore and 34 disadvantaged communities with multi-family housing. The project also includes workforce development programs that offer services to help train, place, and retain people in good-paying jobs or registered apprenticeships.
   
• $70 million to the North Central Texas Council of Governments to build up to five hydrogen fueling stations for medium- and heavy-duty freight trucks in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. The project will help create a hydrogen corridor from southern California to Texas.
   
• $15 million to the County of Contra Costa in California to build a total of 52 fast chargers and 60 Level 2 chargers at 15 branch locations of the county’s library system.
   
• $15 million to Energy Northwest, a joint operating agency in Washington State, to install 40 fast chargers and 12 Level 2 chargers across western Washington State and northern Oregon. The project will provide EV access to largely rural and disadvantaged communities, including on Indigenous Tribal lands.
   
• $12 million to the City of Mesa, Arizona, to build 48 electric vehicle chargers for a variety of vehicle sizes, charging docks for e-bikes and e-scooters, and solar canopies to support electricity generation at the stations.
   
• $1.4 million to the Chilkoot Indian Association, an Alaska Native Tribe, to build an EV charging station in Haines, a rural and disadvantaged community where there are no publicly available EV charging stations.

To provide a consistent charging experience for users that ensures a convenient, affordable and reliable national charging network, EV chargers constructed with CFI funds must adhere to the same minimum standards established for NEVI-funded chargers – including requirements that CFI-funded chargers are Made in America as well as installed and maintained in accordance with strong workforce standards. FHWA is working closely with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, providing technical assistance on planning and implementation of a national network of electric vehicle chargers and zero-emission fueling infrastructure.

For a full list of grant recipients, visit: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/cfi/grant_recipients/

For more information on President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and investments in electric vehicles, please visit FHWA’s BIL web site.

Information on technical assistance from the Joint Office is available at DriveElectric.gov. Read more about the Justice40 Initiative.

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CV NEWS FEED // Dozens of electric vehicle (EV) owners found that they were unable to charge their cars as a cold snap took hold of the Chicago metropolitan area over the weekend.

“Public charging stations have turned into car graveyards over the past couple of days,” FOX 32 Chicago reported Monday.

The Chicago-based FOX affiliate described the pandemonium that unfolded at a Tesla “supercharging station” in Oak Brook, IL:

[D]ozens of Tesla owners trying desperately to power up their cars. … It was a scene mirrored with long lines and abandoned cars at scores of other charging stations around the Chicago area.

“We got a bunch of dead robots out here,” remarked one observer of the chaos.

Chalis Mizelle called the situation “crazy” and “a disaster.” As FOX 32 noted, she “was forced to abandon” her Tesla at the station “and get a ride from a friend.”

“No juice. Still on zero percent,” remarked fellow Tesla owner Tyler Beard on the status of his vehicle. Beard added that he spent three hours, two days in a row, in failed attempts to get the EV to run.

Kevin Sumrak, who had just flown back to the area, had no choice but to pay for a flatbed truck to tow his Tesla to another charging station.

The Chicago Auto Trade Association’s Mark Bilek told FOX 32 that EVs represent a “learning curve” to consumers and are “not plug and go.”

“You have to precondition the battery, meaning that you have to get the battery up to the optimal temperature to accept a fast charge,” Bilek said.

>> THOUSANDS OF CAR DEALERS STAND UP TO BIDEN’S EV MANDATE <<

In a November letter to President Joe Biden, thousands of car dealers named many objections their customers have to purchasing EVs. Among them was the “loss of driving range in cold or hot weather.”

They also detailed the inconvenience of EV charging stations compared to the convenience of gas stations, the vehicles’ “dramatic loss of range when towing,” and their steep price tags.

The coalition of dealers petitioned the president to end his plan to replace a large portion of the nation’s traditional gas vehicles with EVs – an initiative that critics have dubbed an “EV mandate.”

“[EVs] are stacking up on our lots,” the dealers noted. “[T]he majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change.”

“[M]any people just want to make their own choice about what vehicle is right for them,” they emphasized.

>> HERTZ SELLING 20,000 EVS CITING HIGH COST AND LOW DEMAND <<

Also, as CatholicVote reported: “Hertz, the nation’s largest car rental company, announced plans last week to sell one-third of its stock of EVs, citing high costs and low demand.”

Again from CatholicVote:

Hertz’s move comes three years after the car rental conglomerate ordered 100,000 Teslas. This headline-making deal at the time caused Elon Musk’s EV giant to become a one-trillion-dollar company.

However, Tesla’s market capitalization has since fallen by over $300 billion as the EV industry struggles to remain afloat.

>> ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS TELL HOUSE GOP TO CONFRONT BIDEN’S GREEN ‘DISASTER’ <<