The Federal Highway Administration grant to the North Central Texas Council of Governments is to install up to 100 public EV charging ports in the 16-county Dallas-Fort Worth region, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, announced Tuesday.
The five-year grant is intended to expand EV charging access in underserved areas. Another $70 million grant will be used to build up to five hydrogen fueling stations in the state, Allred announced.
“Texas is already a leader in energy, and our infrastructure must meet the needs of emerging technologies so we can keep growing our economy and creating jobs,” Allred said.
About 1% of the 25 million vehicles registered in Texas are EVs, although those figures omit some fleet vehicles, the North Central Texas Council of Governments said.
The number of EV charging stations in Texas has been climbing and now tops 3,400, based on state figures. But that is still a fraction of the more than 12,000 devices available in the state to gas up internal combustion engine cars and trucks.
While the number of places to plug in an EV has been rising, advocates for greater access say disparities are growing.
“The private sector is leading the charge, as they should, in the big picture, but if you look at the map, frankly, there are areas that are getting left behind,” said Lori Clark, a senior program manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments and director of Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities, an initiative that aims to clean up the air in North Texas.
Rural communities and urban locations with multifamily housing typically have limited access to charging, and Clark said the first year of the project will include gathering public input about where charging ports are most needed.
Electric vehicle adoption has been hampered by consumer concerns about running out of juice mid-trip, a lack of charging stations and the higher price tag compared with traditional gas-powered vehicles.
Overcoming those concerns and promoting electric vehicle usage is key to President Joe Biden’s plans to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Biden has pushed financial incentives to help make the vehicles more affordable, incentives that were recently made available as point-of-sale discounts.
New restrictions on the source of battery components have trimmed the list of models eligible for the incentives, however, and many auto dealers have complained that growth in consumer demand for EVs slowed last year.
Biden has backed major spending to build out the charging network, including billions in the landmark bipartisan infrastructure law. His goal is to build a national network of at least a half-million public chargers by 2030.
Texas is already getting more than $400 million over several years to build large charging stations every 50 miles along its interstates.
“That will take care of our interstates, but there’s so much of the region that is not within one mile of the interstates,” Clark said.
The 100 new ports from the federal grant are expected to include a mix of charging speeds and will be installed over the next five years, focusing on areas where there are no charging stations within a reasonable driving distance.
“This is a major shot in the arm,” Clark said. “In some of these rural communities, in particular, in some of the underserved areas, there’s not really been any electrified transportation investment yet, and so there’s the potential for transformation with just a little bit of investment to get things jump started.”
There’s also a need to bolster access in urban communities where many residents don’t have access to a garage to plug in an EV.
“We know that EV ownership for residents of multifamily properties is particularly challenging, if you don’t have a dedicated parking space or a dedicated garage,” Clark said. “And so what are the strategies that we could do in terms of building infrastructure in close proximity to high concentrations of multifamily?”
The $70 million grant for hydrogen fueling stations is aimed at replacing diesel long-haul trucks with a cleaner option.
The plan is to have five fueling stations: one each in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and another one along Interstate 35 between San Antonio and DFW.
Both grants require a 20% match from the private sector.
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