by Anthony Hennen
Pennsylvania will expand its electric vehicle charging infrastructure after it received $25 million in federal funds to do so.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced the $25.4 million came from November’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, legislation also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Addressing the global threat of climate change is a top priority throughout my administration and it’s a priority that President Joe Biden and I share,” Wolf said in a release. “Investing in EV infrastructure is a critical way to reduce greenhouse gases and make EV chargers accessible for more Pennsylvanians.”
The money comes from the first round of funding; through 2026, Pennsylvania expects to receive $170 million for EV infrastructure alone. The funds will be spent by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation through its National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
A state will have a “full build-out” for EV charging stations when they are installed every 50 miles along an alternative fuel corridor and within one travel mile of an interstate exit or highway intersection, and when certain power capacity standards are met.
“PennDOT and our partners have been hard at work preparing for a future filled with electric vehicles,” PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said in the press release. “These new funds available to us … give Pennsylvania the opportunity to reinvent transportation in a way that is smarter, cleaner, safer, more equitable and more efficient than ever before.”
Other charging stations have already been built. Tesla has already built 50 across the commonwealth and, as The Center Square previously reported, the commonwealth has built out more than 1,000 charging stations. The vast majority of EV owners charge them privately at home.
The number of electric vehicles have more than tripled since March 2019, with more than 31,000 of them on Pennsylvania roadways. A 2019 executive order from Wolf set a goal to replace 25% of the state government passenger car fleet with electric or hybrid vehicles.
Nationally, the Biden administration plans to spend $7.5 billion to build out a network of 500,000 EV chargers.
– – –
Anthony Hennen is a reporter for The Center Square. Previously, he worked for Philadelphia Weekly and the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. He is managing editor of Expatalachians, a journalism project focused on the Appalachian region.
Photo “Electric Vehicle Charging Station” by Ivan Radic. CC BY 2.0.
