A pair of Lehigh County projects will receive over a million dollars in federal funding to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Pennsylvania officials announced Monday that $33.8 million will be distributed to 54 projects across 35 counties, as part of the first round of conditional awards for federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding.
According to PennDOT, the projects were selected to expand access to, and the reliability of, electrical vehicle charging in the state.
Two projects that received funding are located in Lehigh County. The Turkey Hill Mini Market located off I-78 Exit 57 will receive $798,869 for a new charging station.
Similarly, the Wawa off of I-78 Exit 49 A-B is slated to receive $727,420, also for a charging station.
PennDOT said four federally-compliant charging ports will be funded at each charging location, with 216 total funded ports.
Twenty-two of the projects are in, or within half a mile of, state or federally designated disadvantaged communities. The release said some projects may begin as early as late 2023.
A National Environmental Policy Act public involvement process will begin for each project announced, and projects can begin after successful NEPA completion and legal agreement execution.
This first round of funding is part of $171.5 million PennDOT will receive and distribute for EV charging infrastructure over five years. The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
This legislation provides $7.5 billion to help make EV charging more accessible, split between $5 billion in the NEVI Formula Program and the $2.5 billion Discretionary Grant Program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure.
"Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we can strengthen and expand our electric vehicle charging infrastructure," U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. said in a statement.
"This funding will allow us to deploy electric vehicle charging stations across our Commonwealth, from cities to suburbs to rural areas, promoting energy security, creating jobs, and reducing our carbon footprint."
PennDOT says NEVI funding supports state and federal goals of expanding EV charging along previously-designated Alternative Fuel Corridors and interstate lookalikes.
The full list of Round 1 NEVI funding recipients can be found here.
The department said the initial focus of this funding is for states to strategically deploy Direct Current Fast Charging Stations along AFCs.
Per guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation, NEVI formula funds must first be used to “build out” designated AFCs, meaning that there is no more than 50 miles between stations and less than one mile from an AFC exit.
Pennsylvania has over 1,800 miles of AFCs, according to PennDOT.
(Original air-date: 8/14/23)
