(Bloomberg) —
Federal officials with $7.5 billion to spend on building a national network of electric vehicle charging stations want the money to start flowing this year, and they plan to issue guidance to states next month on how to apply for it.
Representatives of the U.S. energy and transportation departments told an EV charging summit Thursday that the guidance would probably be released the second week of February. It will tell states how to assemble plans for deploying chargers along highways and within communities, which will then be submitted to the government for funding.
The federal government wants to start doling out funding this year, said Polly Trottenberg, deputy secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“You’ll start to see those dollars start to flow, I think I can safely say, in the coming months,” she told reporters in a summit press conference.
The infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed into law in November set aside $5 billion to create a nationwide charging network, as well as a $2.5 billion competitive grant program for deployment efforts focused on disadvantaged communities and rural areas. A joint office of the energy and transportation departments will oversee the funding and help build the network. States will have to collaborate with local communities and electric utilities to craft the plans, officials said.
To contact the author of this story:
David R Baker in San Francisco at dbaker116@bloomberg.net
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