PennDOT gets $171M in grants to expand electric vehicle network

PennDOT is receiving $171.5 million in grants to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure.

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PennDOT will receive the federal funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years. For the first round of funding, PennDOT has advanced appropriations of $25.4 million for federal fiscal year 2022 and $36.5 million for 2023.

“The (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) Grant Program provides an opportunity for Pennsylvania to build out our EV charging infrastructure,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “We’ve created this grant program with considerations of equity in mind, with scoring to ensure local workforce and diversity in partnerships.”

Some of the money may be used for workforce training, planning, outreach, and program management. About $56 million is anticipated to be available for applicants.

Sales of electric vehicles have been soaring in recent years, despite the downturn in the market due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Sales of new light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, including all-electric vehicles and hybrids, nearly doubled from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Electric vehicle sales accounted for 73% of all plug-in electric vehicle sales in 2021. Sales sales grew by 85% from 2020 to 2021, while sales of hybrids more than doubled, with an increase of 138% over the previous year, the DOE said.

“The rapid growth in plug-in electric vehicle sales from 2020 to 2021 is remarkable in the context of overall light-duty vehicle sales, which increased by only 3% during the same period,” the DOE reported in March 2022.

PennDOT’s grant program is a reimbursement grant program. Applicants are required to provide a minimum 20% match. The application period for Round 1 of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Grant program will open between Feb. 24 and April 6.

McKinsey and Company, a management consulting firm, expects electronic vehicle sales to climb based on investments by the Biden administration, “including the goal that by 2030, half of all new vehicle sales in the United States will be zero-emission cars, state-level adoption of credit programs, tougher emissions standards, and increasing electrification commitments from major US OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).”

“Billions of dollars in proposed infrastructure spending could result in a boost for EV sales through direct measures such as consumer tax credits for the purchase of EVs, as well as the construction of new public charging infrastructure,” the firm stated.

PennDOT anticipates most applicants will be public-sector entities, incorporated nonprofit entities, and corporations or business entities registered to do business in Pennsylvania. More information at PennDOT’s website.