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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA $15 million federal grant is expected to help Indianapolis install publicly available electric vehicle chargers and fill gaps in the charging network.
The project will prioritize fair and equitable placement to fill gaps left in the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, according to Wednesday’s press release from the city of Indianapolis and Congressman André Carson.
The INDOT plan, approved by the Federal Highway Administration in September 2022, received criticism from Black environmental groups and lawmakers who said the distribution was inequitable.
Carson and the city said the state plan “failed to adequately include urban and underserved communities like those in Indianapolis” and “failed to provide quantifiable inclusion of minority and disadvantaged businesses.”
Carson first outlined these concerns in a 2022 letter.
Indianapolis city leaders will make decisions on the placement of EV charging stations with community input. All prospective locations are subject to a community-engagement and planning process and site-feasibility study, according to Wednesday’s announcement. Public parking locations will be considered based on their alignment with the White House’s Justice40 initiative, which mandates that at least 40% of the benefits of certain federal investments must flow to disadvantaged communities.
The $15 million grant for Indianapolis is part of a total $521 million awarded nationally under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program to deploy 9,200 EV charging ports. Locally, the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability set a goal of having 300 publicly available EV charging stations by 2025; the office reported having 277 in 2023.
The grants from the charging and fueling infrastructure program provide chargers to urban and rural communities in publicly accessible locations. Those locations include both downtown areas and other neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities, according to the Transportation Department.
Indianapolis is required to match 20% of the $15 million award, according to the Transportation Department. The city’s application included an emphasis on economic feasibility, community engagement and workforce development, Senior Project Manager Mo McReynolds told IBJ last year.
The funding comes at a time when Indianapolis is seeing an uptick in electric vehicle usage. The Office of Sustainability reported last year that the city had 4,343 registered electric vehicles, surpassing the goal of 3,040 that the city had set for 2025.
Nationally, the number of EVs on the road is expected to grow to 26.4 million by 2030.
State government officials are currently working to build out a statewide electric vehicle infrastructure network of more than 100 fast-charging stations using $100 million in funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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How far will $15M go towards the 300 new station goal? Also, is there a qualifying requirement for these chargers? Do they need to be DC fast charging? or just any charging capability.
I agree with the post above. It would be nice to have more details as to where and when and how long will it take to have them deployed. If by 2025… that is about 4 months away. Will there be a cost? NACS? or not?
So Andre Carson thinks that EV owners are going to go to the “underserved” and “disadvantaged” sections of Indianapolis to charge a car for an hour? How about we use common sense and place them in safe, well lit areas of the city with the most business and commerce. You know, the places that EV owners actually go.
When did they start calling tax payer funded programs grants? That’s not a grant it’s my freaking money. And your’s.
For at least a century.
It’s all part of the Biden Harris convert to Ev plan that is now failing, as will government paid charging stations. Also Carson has no idea, he pandering for votes as usual.
I thought Trump publicly said we should become an EV leading nation…. so I think you mean politicians who are bought and paid for plan*
So the Federal Government is spending hundreds of million dollars to place charging stations in under served neighborhoods.
The first question, how many people in underserved neighborhoods can afford electric vehicles?
Next question, what is the over/under on how long it will be before these chargers are stripped of their copper? I lived in an underserved neighborhood. In the old days, you could not find a working payphone because they would be vandalised. More recently, houses are being stripped of siding, wiring and plumbing for the scrap value. Until rules were passed to make selling municipal items to scrapyards illegal, they were stealing manhole covers, light poles, rails and fencing from city property.
More good taxpayer dollars thrown a way just to be woke.
I would rather see the funds go to our streets and roads. I’m sick of the potholes everywhere in Indianapolis.
These are non-fungible grant dollars. They can’t go to any other use.
Unequal access to transportation options has been at the root of what’s caused historical disinvestment from what are now considered disadvantaged communities. You can’t promote equity without acknowledging the injustices of the past.
40% of this funding is appropriated for DACs, and the state’s NEVI plan, despite the public criticism, meets that metric, as well.
Projects will have five years to utilize the funds. We’ll see how soon Indy can get the process up and running, and who will provide the oversight.