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Today, the federal government’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation opened up applications for a $2.5 billion program to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in underserved communities. The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program was authorized along with the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
For starters, the Joint Office is making $700 million available for EV chargers—but also other alternative fuels including hydrogen and natural gas.
The CFI program actually encompasses two discrete $1.25 billion grant programs. The first is for community charging and fueling grants in both urban and rural areas, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods as well as neighborhoods with a low ratio of private parking.
The other half of the money is for the alternative fuel corridor grants, which will fund the deployment of EV chargers and other alternative fuel infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors.
“It’s critical that we build a national charging network that provides EV drivers with the right type of charging in the right location—whether that’s high-powered charging on highway corridors and in urban hubs or Level 2 charging where EV drivers or riders live, work, and play,” said Joint Office Executive Director Gabe Klein. “By working with cities and communities through the CFI Program to get this mix right, we can ensure that everyone has convenient and affordable access to riding and driving electric.”
As we detailed recently, the $5 billion NEVI program for highway fast charging infrastructure contains minimum standards for reliability and service that includes a requirement for 97 percent uptime at the plug level. Those minimum standards, as well as a “buy American” requirement, will also apply to anyone using CFI funds.
“The community grants provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will give states and localities the flexibility to quickly and sustainably deploy EV charging infrastructure in historically underserved communities. The projects supported by this funding will enable a significant expansion of charging availability for all Americans—particularly in communities with high concentrations of multi-unit dwellings. We applaud this step by the administration, and encourage applications for this important source of funding that supports our path to a zero emission future,” said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association.
