The Biden administration on Thursday announced $623 million in federal funding to build out an electric vehicle charging network across the country as President Joe Biden looks to make strides toward his goal of 500,000 chargers nationwide by 2030.
The funding will be distributed to 47 EV charging and alternative fuel projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, resulting in 7,500 new EV charging ports in total, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
In a call with reporters on Wednesday, Buttigieg said the funds will make it “easier, more affordable and more convenient for people to charge EVs where we live, where we work, where we shop – wherever we need to charge.”
Buttigieg noted the grants – which come from one of the president’s signature pieces of legislation, the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – are focused on both urban and rural communities, the latter of which, he said, would likely not see charging stations built quickly without these projects and investment.
“EV drivers charge where they park, which is very convenient if you have a single daily home and a garage or if you work in an office that supports easily your ability to plug in,” he said. “But if you live in an apartment building, if you work in a rural area with fewer charging stations or if you are routinely driving over longer distances, it's not so easy.”
One grant totaling $1.4 million from Thursday’s announcement, for instance, will go to an Alaskan Native Tribe, the Chilkoot Indian Association, to build a station in a rural community that currently has none publicly available.
The Biden administration also billed the announcement as an opportunity to create jobs, with the goal of “ensuring that EVs are made in America with American workers.”
“When those chargers go into the ground, we’ve got the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – good paying union jobs being spurred in communities from coast to coast to do that work,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said.
The number of charging ports available to the public has increased nearly 70% since Biden took office, according to the administration.
The first charging stations funded by the 2021 infrastructure law did not begin operating until last month.
“This is just one part of the puzzle. Thanks to President Biden’s leadership and the infrastructure law, we have funding for tens of thousands more as part of a larger national policy and national effort,” Buttigieg said.