PA Issues $38.5M In First Round Of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Funds

August 21, 2023

Last week the Shapiro Administration released the first round of conditional awards for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding. Fifty-four (54) projects in 35 counties were selected to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in Pennsylvania. The 54 projects conditionally awarded amount to a total federal investment of $33.8 million for Round 1. View the conditional award list by visiting the following interactive map on PennDOT’s NEVI webpage.

In total, the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program will provide Pennsylvania a total of $171.5 million over the next 5 years. The federal guidelines for NEVI required that the state prioritize locations along the interstates within one mile from exits. The initial focus of this funding is for states to strategically deploy Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) stations along its designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs), to help build out the national EV AFC network.

Once a state’s AFC network is “fully built out” according to FHWA criteria — NEVI-compliant DCFC stations that are both: a) no more than 50 miles apart along each AFC; and b) no more than 1 mile from the nearest AFC exit — then that state may use NEVI Formula Program funds for EV charging infrastructure on any public road or other publicly accessible location.

PennDOT utilized a scoring system to determine such issues as motorist convenience in waiting for charging process to be completed in its evaluation of potential facilities. Moving forward, a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public involvement process will begin for each project. Projects can begin after successful NEPA completion and legal agreement execution. Some projects may begin as early as late 2023.