The United States Department of Transportation announced this morning that it had approved plans to build enough electric vehicle charging stations to cover 75,000 miles worth of highways across the country and its territories.
After passing a hefty $1 trillion infrastructure bill in November 2021, President Joe Biden’s moves to increase the available number of electric vehicle chargers are officially a go. States will have access to $5 billion to install EV chargers across interstates in the next five years.
This will more than triple the available funds per state, as the Department of Transportation stated that roughly $1.5 billion is currently available.
States are continuously working to expand their electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and depending on the population and overall market share of electric vehicles, and some areas will need more chargers than others.
Reuters mentioned that earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the States will be more responsible individually on how the charging stations are installed.
However, there are some specific guidelines that each State must follow. The Department of Transportation is advising the States to fund DC Fast Chargers with at least four simultaneously-usable plug-ins. Chargers should be available every 50 miles along interstate highways. Chargers located off the highway should be within one mile of the interstate, as well.
Federal funds will only cover four-fifths of the total EV charging installation costs. States are tasked with coming up with the remainder of that bill, only needing 20 percent of the total cost.
First drafts of the plans for EV infrastructure deployment were submitted to the White House on August 2, with 32 of the 50 states receiving approval earlier this month.
In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside $7.5 billion for EV charging infrastructure expansion. The remaining $2.5 billion will be invested in community electric vehicle charging projects. It also included a $7 billion investment into supporting domestic mineral acquisition for electric vehicle batteries and components.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
