The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently made $25 million available to help build electric vehicle or EV chargers in Western Pennsylvania as part of the “Community Charging” phase of the federally funded National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
[Above photo by PennDOT]
The agency said this is the second region of Pennsylvania where it is making NEVI funding available, with Southeastern Pennsylvania – where funding was announced in February – being the first. Through the Community Charging funding rounds, the administration of Governor Josh Shapiro (D) is directing a total of $100 million in federal funding to build public EV charging stations across Pennsylvania. PennDOT added that it is conducting a survey for interested organizations to connect with EV charging station builders and operators to partner with on submissions, which is available at www.pa.gov/evcommunity.
“The most critical element when considering an EV is knowing where you can charge it,” explained Mike Carroll, PennDOT secretary, in a statement. “We’re directing investments to new chargers in communities that need them and improving EV accessibility for everyone.”
The agency added that Community Charging funding is being made available by region: Southeast, East, Central and West. Local transportation planning agencies will determine specific areas within those regions for EV charger investments, but all publicly available locations within the region are eligible to apply for Community Charging funds, PennDOT said.
Other state departments of transportation are also expanding efforts to build out EV charger networks in their specific regions.
For example, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recently opened two more EV fast-charging sites that were built with NEVI funds. The two charging stations, developed by Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, are located in Elizabethtown and Shepherdsville. Altogether,
14 EV charging sites are now open in Kentucky, with 14 more under construction statewide. KYTC added that it recently issued a fourth call for proposals to fund additional fast-charging sites in urban and rural areas across Kentucky.
“We’re proudly charging ahead with more sites anticipated to open all across the state this year,” said Rebecca Goodman, KYTC secretary, in a statement. “With each new site, we are truly becoming more connected as we see our charging network take shape throughout Kentucky.”
