Grants, which were awarded to state and local authorities, will build more than 9,200 electric vehicle chargers across the country. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Biden administration announced $521 million will be awarded in grants to complete this.
The grants will support the build of the chargers in 29 states, eight Tribal nations and the District of Columbia.
“Expanding access to electric vehicle charging across the nation—especially in rural and Tribal communities and along highway corridors—is so important as the EV industry grows and we build the infrastructure to support the necessary transition to pollution-free vehicles,” Jesse Piedfort, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, said.
The million dollars in grants will also help build 10 fast-charging hubs along major highway corridors, the Sierra Club reported.
Under the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative, an effort to provide 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments to flow to disadvantage communities, more than half of the grants were awarded to sites located in disadvantage communities, the Sierra Club reported.
“To see the Biden-Harris administration’s dedication to clean energy and clean vehicles, all we have to do is follow the money,” Piedfort said.
The Biden administration confirmed that while this investment will continue to increase the number of EV chargers in the U.S., currently there are a more than 192,000 EV chargers in operation in the U.S.—a number that nearly double since 2021.
“The milestone of almost 200,000 public chargers is a win for public health, a livable planet, and healthy communities,” Piedfort said.
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