The state Department of Transportation kicked off the community charging segment of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure project last week with an event in Chester County, which has the most registered electric vehicles in the state. After the first round of NEVI grants were earmarked for charging stations at least every 50 miles on interstate highways and other high-profile corridors, this round of funding will bring more stations to neighborhoods at locations such as apartment buildings and business districts.
At a news conference Thursday, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll noted that the department divided the state into four regions and has been working with regional planners since 2024 to identify potential charging locations. Those regions are five counties in the southeast plus larger areas in the eastern, central and western parts of the state.
The announcement kicked off a six-month period for potential private owners to submit proposals to be awarded a station in the southeast region. Awards for that area, which will receive about $34 million, are scheduled for October or November.
The application process for the other three regions will be rolled out in each area over the next seven months. The southwest region’s kickoff for applications for $22 million to $26 million is expected to be in April, with submissions due by November and awards announced next February.
The eastern region will have $29 million to $33 million available, and the central region will have $9 million to $11 million.
After a first found that favored mostly long-distance travelers, Mr. Carroll told Chester officials that this round will provide “charging stations for people who reside here.”
Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz said she is among more than 15,000 county residents who own electric vehicles, but the county only has one charging station for every 400 vehicles. Having more charging stations should improve that ratio, she said, and help the county to reach its sustainability goal of reducing greenhouse gas to 80% of 2005 levels by 2050.
Overall, the southeast counties have identified 58 general potential locations for new charging stations. In the first round, most of the selected operators were gas stations or convenience stores along the highways, but that is expected to change in this round.
Under the grant program, federal funds cover 80% of the site acquisition and construction cost while the private operator provides the other 20%. Although the cost at each site can be different, the stations tend to cost from $750,000 to $1.2 million depending on the cost of land and the amount of electricity available.
In the Pittsburgh region, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission has worked through a “very robust process” since 2024 to identify general areas by zip code that need more chargers, said SPC spokesman D.J. Ryan. Counterparts in the northwestern area have done the same and submitted those recommendations to PennDOT.
“We haven’t seen what the final parameters are yet” guiding final site selections, Mr. Ryan said. “What’s so exciting about this is there are business districts that are going to get chargers out of this.”
It’s important for chargers to be available in neighborhoods and business areas because apartment residents and homeowners often don’t have room to install their own, he said. Wider availability also will open communities to new residents.
Once projects are awarded in this area early next year, it can generally take another year for construction.
The NEVI program was one of the cornerstones of the Biden administration’s economic recovery and environmental efforts. The plans included incentives for consumers to buy more electric vehicles to spur manufacturing of new automobiles and charging stations while reducing air pollution.
When Donald Trump returned to the presidency last year, he eliminated the incentives to buy electric vehicles and initially froze NEVI funding and made states reapply for allocations they had previously been awarded. In August, the federal Department of Transportation began releasing NEVI funding again under new spending guidelines, and in September Pennsylvania became the first state to receive approval to begin spending money again.
The state already has committed funding for 90 projects, mostly along main highway corridors, and expects to have as many as 150 through its initial allotment of $171.5 million.
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