The U.S. Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office), released a free technical resource to help larger communities take full advantage of Federal funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and other forms of electric transportation.

The new guide is called "Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Urban Electric Mobility Infrastructure," which provides a resource for communities, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transportation providers, businesses, and property owners and developers by including information on how to scope, plan, and identify ways to best leverage billions of dollars in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

What the New Toolkit Includes

The toolkit builds on the efforts of the Joint Office to provide states and communities across America with information and assistance to accelerate an electrified transportation system. 

The toolkit also includes guidance to help urban areas implement other forms of electric transportation, such as public transit, electric bikes and scooters, and rideshare services.  

"Under President Biden’s leadership, we’re creating a generation of good-paying jobs – many of which don’t require a four-year degree – building a nationwide network of EV chargers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This toolkit will help all communities, big and small, bring EV charging to their residents, which will lower costs for drivers, create jobs, and reduce pollution.” 

Last September, DOT approved plans from all 50 states and DC and Puerto Rico to build a nationwide network of EV chargers, supported by $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

This spring, DOT opened the application process for the first $700 million of the total $2.5 billion in funding to build EV charging infrastructure in communities and neighborhoods across the country through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program.

Together, the funding represents the largest investment in EV charging in U.S. history and a step towards meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of building 500,000 public EV chargers and reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030.  

The toolkit builds on recent progress towards the expansion of EV infrastructure, including the recently published minimum standards for federally funded EV infrastructure and President Biden’s EV charging Build America, Buy America requirements.

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration released the first blueprint to decarbonize the nation’s transportation sector and cut all transportation-related greenhouse emissions by 2050 – an interagency effort between DOT, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.