The Biden-Harris Administration has approved deployment of $1.5 billion in funding to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in all 50 states of the U.S. as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
The approval of funding comes as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program established as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It will allow for the building of EV chargers covering about 75,000 miles of highway across the U.S.
The news comes a week after the initial $900 million was approved by the Biden Administration for 35 states to begin building EV chargers.
The NEVI program will provide a total of $5 billion over the next five years to build EV charging across the U.S. as part of President Joe Biden’s pledge to expand EV charging to 550,000 charging stations to help with the automotive industry’s largest transition in history to electrification. President Biden also plans to electrify the government's fleet of 650,000 vehicles through 2030.
“We have approved plans for all 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country — from the largest cities to the most rural communities — can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Why it is needed
According to the U.S. government, the transportation sector is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning to electrification of vehicles is one way the U.S. can cut emissions by 50% to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030.
But to do this and support the transition and demand for new EVs on the road, a network of public chargers will be critical.
Under the NEVI program, states will be reimbursed for the costs of building EV charging stations for projects directly related to the charging of an EV. These include:
- Upgrade of existing and construction of new EV charging infrastructure.
- Operation and maintenance costs of these charging stations.
- Installation of on-site electrical service equipment.
- Community and stakeholder engagement.
- Workforce development activities.
- EV charging station signage.
- Data sharing activities.
- Related mapping analysis and activities.
