(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today is applauding the announcement from the White House that the plan Connecticut submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program has been approved.
NEVI was established and funded by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is giving states an opportunity to receive federal funding for the purposes of building a convenient, reliable, and affordable electric vehicle charging network across the country.
With this approval, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) will receive $52.5 million in federal funding over the next five years to deploy the state’s plan. This includes $7.7 million in fiscal year 2022 and additional funding being allocated in 2023.
“Connecticut is taking the lead in addressing climate change, and this approval from the Biden administration will allow us to move ahead in expanding our electric vehicle charging network,” Governor Lamont said. “Residents, businesses, and visitors alike will soon have equitable access to electric vehicle fast chargers to move them through and across our state faster and more reliably. I extend my gratitude to President Biden and his administration for their support in implementing these infrastructure upgrades. I also thank Connecticut’s Congressional delegation for their continuous advocacy to ensure that our state receives the federal support we need to move forward on these critical improvements.”
“With the green light from the USDOT, Connecticut’s NEVI plan can take the next step in expanding a safe, reliable, and accessible fast-charging electric vehicle network along our interstates,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti said. “Thank you to Governor Lamont and our Congressional delegation for being laser-focused on building a clean, equitable, and accessible transportation infrastructure for all drivers. As Connecticut’s plan is deployed, we look forward to working with our electric vehicle charging stakeholders.”
“The approval by USDOT of Connecticut’s plan to build out the EV charging infrastructure across our state is a major step forward for clean air and our effort to mitigate the climate crisis,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in our state and scaling up deployment of electric vehicles is a key component of our mitigation strategy. Connecticut’s approved plan addresses one of the biggest remaining obstacles to widespread electric vehicle adoption in our state – range anxiety and ease of use. Congratulations to our CTDOT partners, who made sure Connecticut was at the front of the line to secure federal funding and thank you to our federal partners in the Biden administration and Congress for delivering this game-changing funding.”
After plan approval, states can use their allocated NEVI formula funding for projects directly related to charging electric vehicles, which can include upgrading existing DC fast charging infrastructure and constructing new DC fast charging infrastructure. Also included are the installation of on-site electrical service equipment, community and stakeholder engagement, EV charging station signage, data sharing, and related mapping analyses.
Federally funded EV charging requires electricians working on EV charging infrastructure installation to be certified through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, a nonprofit, industry-recognized training program.
Phase one of Connecticut’s plan focuses on building up to ten locations consisting of at least four individual public DC fast chargers with a minimum power level of 150kW per port along Connecticut’s interstate system. CTDOT is working closely with its federal partners to finalize a DC fast charging funding program that ensures all federal program requirements are met. Specific program funding details will be released by early 2023.
The NEVI formula funding awards grants to private, public, and nonprofit entities to build, own, maintain, and operate chargers. The program pays up to 80% of eligible costs for charging infrastructure. CTDOT will not own or operate any electric vehicle chargers.
As of July 2022, there were more than 25,000 electric vehicles registered in Connecticut. Data from the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles indicate that more than 10,800 new light-duty electric vehicles were registered over the last year, increasing from more than 9,700 the previous year.
For more information on Connecticut’s NEVI plan, visit portal.ct.gov/DOT/Sustainability-and-Resiliency/CTNEVI-Program.