Electric vehicle charging stations in Park City Sept. 29, 2020. Utah is included in a recent round of funding from the federal government, receiving $3.3 million to improve infrastructure for electric vehicles. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
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SALT LAKE CITY — The Biden administration is continuing to invest in and support electric vehicle infrastructure, announcing Thursday nearly $150 million is going to 24 grant recipients in 20 states to improve charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
The Beehive State and the Utah Department of Transportation will get $3.3 million to repair or replace an estimated 77 charging ports throughout the state. Nationwide, the grant will cover nearly 4,500 ports.
“The EV (electric vehicle) revolution is here. To make the most of it we must ensure that everyone, from the largest cities to the most rural communities, has access to reliable EV charging infrastructure,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “These grants bring us another step closer to a national EV charging network that keeps up with the EV transition that’s well underway.”
The investments in electric vehicle infrastructure come at a good time as Utah is experiencing a rapid rise in electric vehicle ownership.
Data from the Utah State Tax Commission shows that 25,532 electric cars were registered in Utah as of February 2023. That was up more than 200% from 2020 when there were 8,041 electric vehicles in the state.
The latest round of funding is part of Biden’s Investing in America agenda and comes from a new program from the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program that was recently created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The goal of the infrastructure formula program is to assist states in building out electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
“Charging your electric vehicle should be as easy and convenient as filling up a gas tank — and these grants will help do that by making our EV charging network more reliable,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a statement. “We’re building a bigger and better EV charging network to keep up with driver demand, and we’re also ensuring the existing network works when you need a charge.”
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