Program

COVID-19 Federal Assistance e311

Topics

Federal Funding Streams, Infrastructure & Maintenance Investments

Funding Source

Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act

Can municipalities receive funds to plan or create a sustainable electric vehicle infrastructure?

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) provides ~$5 billion under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program for electric vehicle (“EV”) charging infrastructure programs that provide:[1]

  1. nonproprietary charging connectors that meet applicable industry safety standards; and
  2. open access to payment methods that are available to all members of the public to ensure secure, convenient, and equal access to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure that shall not be limited by membership to a particular payment provider.[2]

Municipalities should consider working with their states to implement a sustainable EV infrastructure that is eligible for funding under the IIJA.

Municipalities may also apply to the Community Charging and Corridor Charging programs, which are discretionary grant programs authorized by the USDOT, for EV charging infrastructure funding.[3]

Municipalities can consult the USDOT’s Grant Programs website[4] and A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure[5] for additional information on grant opportunities, resources, and partnerships available to build out EV infrastructure programs.

Last Updated: April 20, 2022

[1] Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, H.R. 117th Cong. (2021), Pub. L. No. 117-58, at Section 11129, at 81, available at: https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf.

[2] Id.

[3] The White House, A Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments, and Other Partners, (as of January 31, 2022), at 145-146, available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BUILDING-A-BETTER-AMERICA_FINAL.pdf.

[4] U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, “Grant Programs,” available at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/grants?combine=electric+vehicle&field_grant_type_target_id=All.

[5] U.S. Department of Transportation, “Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure” (as of February 2022), available at: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-01/Charging-Forward_A-Toolkit-for-Planning-and-Funding-Rural-Electric-Mobility-Infrastructure_Feb2022.pdf.