Writer: Ryan Gandolfo
2 min read August 2023 — This month signaled another milestone for Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle infrastructure buildout.
Federal and state officials recently named 54 projects selected for $33.8 million in conditional awards through National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding.
Spread out over 35 counties, the objective is to expand access to EV charging stations in an equitable way for travelers. “These new investments will create good paying jobs and allow Pennsylvanian residents, businesses and visitors to travel across the Commonwealth faster, cleaner and more reliably,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll in a release.
Some charging station projects are slated to begin as early as late 2023. The awards are considered the first round of $171.5 million in federal grant funding that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will receive through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed in November 2021.
According to Carroll, Pennsylvania is among the first states to distribute the awards after meeting federal NEVI requirements, which include being within one mile of established alternative fuel corridors (AFCs) and charging four vehicles at 150kW at the same time. AFCs are designated to “support installation of EV charging, hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure at strategic locations along major national highways.” (Click here to view the AFCs in the state.)
Pennsylvanians are showing more appetite for alternative fuel vehicles, with 43,000 battery EVs registered in the state in 2022 — a nearly 82% increase year over year. However, there were 10,730,611 total state registrations in 2022, with EVs accounting for just 0.4% of the market.
The Keystone State stands in the middle of the pack in terms of EV policies. According to the 2023 State Transportation Electrification Scorecard, published by The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Pennsylvania ranked 16th in the nation among 33 qualified states. State Impact Pennsylvania noted its used EV and low-income buyer rebates are positive, but little overall outcome has been attributed to the state’s efforts to boost EV adoption thus far.
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