Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) received a huge infusion of funds to repair and replace 25 electrical vehicle (EV) chargers in six counties throughout the state.
U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen led the group of Maryland legislators who announced the more than $4 million in federal funding. Joining them were U.S. Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone and Glenn Ivey (all D-Md.).
“The bipartisan infrastructure law is supporting a significant federal investment in our nationwide transition from gas to electric vehicles — and that includes providing the robust, reliable EV charging network to back it. This funding will help upgrade our EV infrastructure so that communities across Maryland – whether rural, urban or suburban – have access to reliable EV charging stations and will support the state as we work toward our net-zero, 100% clean energy goals,” the lawmakers said.
The investment to which they referred comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program. The grant comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, which is dedicated to building EV charging infrastructure.
There is a need to make the current EV charging network more reliable, so this first round of funding is being used to repair or replace non-operational EV chargers.
“The number of electric vehicle registrations is growing rapidly in Maryland, and we’re on track to reach 100,000 registrations in the coming months,” said Maryland’s Secretary of Transportation Paul J. Wiedefeld. “This grant funding is a critical step in our efforts to improve the reliability of our state’s charging network and boost range confidence. I join in thanking our Congressional Delegation, counties and municipalities across the state and Governor Moore’s Administration for their collaboration and commitment to ensuring Maryland is welcoming to electric vehicles.”
The infusion of funds adds to DOT’s recent $15 million grant for the Maryland Clean Energy Center, which is the state’s “official green bank.” That money will be used to add 58 EV charging stations across the state of Maryland. This aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of lowering the cost of EVs and expanding the convenience, reliability, and accessibility of a Made-in-America network of charging stations across the U.S.
According to the Maryland DOT, the number of EVs in the state continues to grow. In 2022, the number of EVs was just over 52,000, and three-quarters into FY 2023 (March 2023) the number of EVs in the state had already reached 68,628. The department’s website reports, “There are 1,348 public charging stations in Maryland, with 3,772 outlets. They are mostly a mix of DC Fast chargers, which can charge some EVs to 80% in 20 or 30 minutes, and Level 2 chargers, which take four to 10 hours for a full charge.”
This grant will help revitalize the network of charging stations that aren’t in working order to help accommodate the growing number of EVs in Maryland.
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