Lawmakers Announce EV Charger Funding
Congressman Steny H. Hoyer and other Maryland lawmakers announced $4,360,176 in federal funding for the Maryland Department of Transportation to repair and replace 25 electric vehicle chargers in six counties across the state.
Rep. Hoyer joined US Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey in making the announcement.
“The bipartisan infrastructure law is supporting a significant federal investment in our nationwide transition from gas to electric vehicles — and that includes providing the robust, reliable EV charging network to back it. This funding will help upgrade our EV infrastructure so that communities across Maryland – whether rural, urban or suburban – have access to reliable EV charging stations and will support the state as we work toward our net-zero, 100% clean energy goals,” the lawmakers said.
The federal investment comes through the US Department of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program.
The grant is funded by a set-aside from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, which helps states build convenient, safe and reliable EV charging infrastructure. The NEVI Formula Program is the first major federal funding program that focuses on a nationwide deployment of EV charging infrastructure.
Ten percent of the NEVI Formula Program is set-aside for the secretary of transportation to make grants to states and localities that require additional assistance to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Reflecting the need to make our current EV charging network more reliable, the first round of funding made available in this set-aside from the NEVI program will focus on repairing or replacing non-operational EV chargers.
“The number of electric vehicle registrations is growing rapidly in Maryland, and we’re on track to reach 100,000 registrations in the coming months,” said Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “This grant funding is a critical step in our efforts to improve the reliability of our state’s charging network and boost range confidence. I join in thanking our congressional delegation, counties and municipalities across the state and Governor [Wes] Moore’s administration for their collaboration and commitment to ensuring Maryland is welcoming to electric vehicles.”
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