$900M Biden EV Infrastructure Plans Coming To All 50 States

Oct. 01, 2022 8:53 AM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Electric Vehicles / 14 Comments

Look for more EV chargers near you.

When the Biden-Harris Administration approved electric vehicle infrastructure plans, 35 states across the USA had agreed to use the funds to ensure EV owners had more places to charge their rides. Now, under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, all 50 US states have officially approved plans, as have Washington DC and Puerto Rico.

The program, developed as part of Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides more than $1.5B in funding for states looking to build out electric car charging networks that all EVs, from the Tesla Model X to the Kia EV6, to the raft of other as-yet-unbuilt EVs, can use.

"We have approved plans for all 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country - from the largest cities to the most rural communities - can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Per US government officials, the new charging stations will span roughly 75,000 miles of highways crisscrossing the United States. As we've known for some time, Biden's goal is to reduce American emissions by 50% or more below 2005 levels by 2030.

With the transportation industry set as the number one source of harmful emissions in America, Biden will likely turn to the commercial sector next, with plans for the auto industry already laid out. Notably, each state was given the opportunity to build its own plan under NEVI, so as to avoid a brittle, cookie-cutter plan that would work in some places but not others.

We've attached a link to the NEVI Program site below so that you can see the infrastructure plans for your state. Each state has its own approval letter and FY22 approval plan detailing how EV infrastructure will be laid out over the coming year.

With each state's plans fully approved, reimbursement funds are now being made available to states. Once in hand, those funds can be used to build out new charging infrastructure or upgrade existing units. We should note that the funds can also be used to pay for things other than just charging infrastructure.

For example, states can use the money to pay for workforce development, signage, or community engagement. 10% of the funds are also set aside to ensure that any gaps can be filled to ensure the network functions on a broader, national level.