(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Ecology, in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Commerce, has announced two new programs for funding the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. The programs total $127.5 million in grant funding.
Announced Tuesday, both programs are exclusively for installation of Level 2 high-speed charging stations, which includes Direct Current Fast Charging.
The Federal Department of Transportation defines Level 2 charging as “equipment [that] offers higher-rate AC charging through 240V or 208V electrical service” and can charge electric vehicles from empty to 80% in 4 to 10 hours, or plug in electric hybrid vehicles from empty to 80% in 1 to 2 hours.
The funding will come in two cycles, one for the 2023-2024 and one for the 2024-2025 fiscal years.
Funding comes from the same source that recent clean diesel fleet modernization funding comes from, as previously reported by The Center Square.
Round one for the 2023-2024 cycle will consist of $64 million from Commerce and $1 million from Ecology.
Round two for the 2024-2025 cycle will consist of $60 million from Commerce and $2.5 million from Ecology.
Grants are open to government entities, tribal governments, utilities, public agencies, nonprofits and businesses.
The preliminary requirements list multi-family residential units, public charging stations, and fleet and workplace charging as eligible projects.
The Department of Commerce grants open Sept. 6, and the Department of Ecology grants open Sept. 26.
Details on the grant application guidelines and process are forthcoming.
“The guidelines for the Ecology program are not available yet, they will be available on the general VW Enforcement Action Grants website on September 26th,” Ecology spokesperson Mehjabeen Rahman told The Center Square when asked for more information.
She added that further guidelines for the Commerce grants will also be available on the same website when grants open for application on Sept. 6.
