U.S. approves remaining EV charging infrastructure plans

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday said it has approved electric vehicle charging infrastructure plans for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.

The approval unlocks more than $1.5 billion in funding in 2022-23 to build EV chargers across roughly 75,000 miles of U.S. highway, including interstates and alternative fuel corridors, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Earlier this month, the agency said it had approved 35 of the 52 EV infrastructure deployment plans submitted by states, D.C. and Puerto Rico ahead of schedule under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

The program — created and funded by the infrastructure law — makes $5 billion available over the next five years to help states achieve President Joe Biden's goal of 500,000 EV charging stations across the U.S. by 2030.

"With this greenlight, states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico can ramp up their work to build out EV charging networks that will make driving an EV more convenient and affordable for their residents and will serve as the backbone of our national EV charging network," said Stephanie Pollack, acting administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.

The agency will continue to work closely with states as they implement the funding, Pollack said.

States had until Aug. 1 to submit EV infrastructure deployment plans to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, created by the U.S. Energy and Transportation departments in December to assist with planning and implementing a national EV charging network, including distributing funds to states. Gabe Klein, former commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation and director of the D.C. Department of Transportation, was appointed in September to lead the joint office as executive director.

With the approval, states, D.C. and Puerto Rico can now be reimbursed for certain costs related to the development of their plans. They can use the funding for projects directly related to the charging of a vehicle, such as upgrading or constructing new charging infrastructure, and activities related to station maintenance and work force development.

In June, the Federal Highway Administration proposed a rule on the minimum standards and requirements to ensure EV charging stations are accessible, user-friendly and interoperable among different charging companies and across a broad range of vehicles. It plans to finalize the rule "expeditiously."

Biden last year set an ambitious target for battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cells to make up 50 percent of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030. And, to speed up EV adoption, his administration wants to work with states to build a national charging network with funding from the infrastructure law.

Companies also are announcing plans to ramp up the nation's charging infrastructure. Hertz and BP on Tuesday announced an alignment on the oil giant's goal to operate more than 100,000 chargers by 2030.

In July, General Motors said it is partnering with EVgo and Pilot Co. to install 2,000 fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers across the country starting this year.

The transportation sector is the nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a main cause of air pollution. Biden also wants to reduce U.S. emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

"President Biden is leading the shift to electrify transportation," said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, "ensuring drivers can commute and charge confidently and affordably, and lessening our oversized reliance on fossil fuels while combating climate change."