The U.S. Department of Transportation has released a free technical guide to help large urban communities to take full advantage of Federal funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and other forms of electric transportation. The announcement was made in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. It follows the popular Rural EV toolkit released last year and updated earlier this summer.
The new guide is called Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Urban Electric Mobility Infrastructure, includes information on how to scope, plan, and identify ways to best leverage billions of dollars in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The resource builds on the efforts of the Joint Office to provide states and communities across America with information and assistance to accelerate the potential for an electrified transportation system.
U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said:
“This toolkit will help all communities, big and small, bring EV charging to their residents, which will lower costs for drivers, create jobs, and reduce pollution.”
The toolkit also includes guidance to help urban areas implement other forms of electric transportation, such as public transit, electric bikes and scooters, and ride-share services.
The federal funding for EV chargers is part of President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda that is growing the American economy from rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, creating a “manufacturing and innovation” boom and building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make communities more resilient.
While many EV owners can charge their vehicles at home or work, people who live in higher density areas, especially those living in apartments and condos, may not have easy access to a garage or the space for a private charger, which means they are more reliant on public charging options.
Last September, DOT approved plans from all 50 states and DC and Puerto Rico to build a nationwide network of EV chargers, supported by $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. This spring, DOT opened the application process for the first $700 million of the total $2.5 billion in funding to build EV charging infrastructure in communities and neighbourhoods across the country through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. Together, this funding represents the largest investment in EV charging in U.S. history and a key step towards meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of building 500,000 public EV chargers and reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030.
