Electric Vehicle Charging Station Construction through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Means Jobs, Cleaner Air for North Carolina

North Carolina will soon begin reaping rewards from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year, with today’s announcement from the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy kicking off a $5 billion construction project to build out the national network of electric vehicle charging stations. Of that amount, North Carolina will be able to apply for just over $16 million in 2022 to be used for charging infrastructure construction, with a total of $109 million being available to the state over the next five years.

“The distribution of funds from the bipartisan infrastructure package is well-timed, coming on the heels of Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 246 that strengthens North Carolina’s commitment to reduce pollution through vehicle electrification,” said EDF Action NC State Director David Kelly. “The state’s recent assessment affirmed transportation and electric power as North Carolina’s top two sources of carbon pollution, underscoring the urgency with which we need to reduce emissions from these sectors. Building out the network of vehicle charging stations will facilitate and encourage North Carolinians to drive electric, reducing carbon pollution, expanding the market for EVs and helping sharpen North Carolina’s competitive edge as a hub for EV manufacturing and supply chain industries.”

“In addition to helping tackle a principal source of pollution that’s contributing to climate change,” David added, “expanding the availability and accessibility of charging stations will mean healthier air for NC families to breathe, good jobs that employ people who need work, and tangible progress along the path to cleaner power and transportation sectors.” 

“To bolster North Carolina’s efforts at the state level, we now need Congress and the President to continue boosting our economic recovery by passing clean energy investments – to power the millions of electric trucks, buses and cars that will be built in America in the years ahead. We thank President Biden for quickly moving these funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support North Carolina communities.”