$521 million in US grants approved for the construction of more EV stations
It's a fraction of the $7.5 billion earmarked to improve charging infrastructure.
The Biden Administration’s promise to put more electric vehicle charging stations on America’s roadway hasn’t exactly gone to plan but a new round of federal grants could help. Reuters reports that $521 million in federal grants have been awarded to grow EV infrastructure and build more charging ports on America’s roadways.
The Energy Department and the Federal Highway Administration have allocated $321 million of the grant money to expand EV charging infrastructure across 29 states as well as the District of Columbia. The remaining $200 million will fund “10 corridor fast-charging projects,” according to Reuters. A full list of the grant recipients are available on the Transportation Department’s website.
Two major cities will receive a sizable portion of those grants: Milwaukee will receive $15 million to install chargers at 53 different sites, while Atlanta will receive $11.8 million to install a DC Fast Charging Hub at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport with 50 fast chargers.
The grants are part of an effort to kick start a $7.5 billion plan to build 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. However, efforts to meet that goal have been very slow. The Washington Post reported in March that only seven open charging stations (with just 38 spots for electric vehicles) were built since the plan was announced and funds were allocated by Congress two years ago.