The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced another $20 million Thursday to build 29 more electric vehicle charging stations, including one in Allegheny County and four along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The awards are part of the state’s allotment of $171.5 million in federal infrastructure funds to build about 150 stations across the state. The charging stations are part of the Biden administration’s $7.5 billion program to build about 500,000 new charging facilities across the country by 2030 to spur the use of electric vehicles and reduce air pollution.
President Joe Biden’s goal is to have half of the new car sales in 2030 involve electric vehicles.
The state received 86 applications for $56 million in this round of funding.
The awards raise the number of new stations funded through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program to 83 in Pennsylvania. Under the rules for the program, the state first has to place stations along or near interstate highways so that a station is available at least every 50 miles in areas known as Alternative Fuel Corridors, identified in Pennsylvania as the interstate highway system and part of Route 30 in the central part of the state.
Pennsylvania has been among the national leaders in awarding grants for charging stations.
“Every federal dollar directed toward EV charging is one step closer to a vision of accessible and reliable infrastructure that supports electric transportation,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said in a news release.
The only charging station slated for the Pittsburgh area will be at a Sheetz convenience store near the turnpike interchange at Allegheny Valley in Harmar. The grant of $768,310 to EVgo Services requires the developer to contribute a 20% match.
Four grants will go to Applegreen Electric PA, which has a contract with the Pennsylvania Turnpike to install charging stations at turnpike plazas. Those grants and locations are $750,000 at the Newburg Plaza and $790,000 at the Carlisle Plaza, both in Cumberland County; $650,000 at the Middletown Plaza in Dauphin County; and $625,000 at the Lawn Plaza in Lebanon County.
The turnpike has a goal of having stations at each of its 20 service plazas by 2027. Nine have received funding grants so far.
The grants are for different amounts because each site has different development requirements and could need different amounts of property.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.