North Texas receives hefty grant for EV charging stations in rural, disadvantaged communities
NORTH TEXAS - North Texas is getting $100 million in funding to build and expand EV charging stations in rural and disadvantaged communities.
A team effort between local agencies made this possible.
It was a small, but jubilant crowd that gathered in Dallas today to get official word from the Department of Transportation Under Secretary Carlos Monje that North Texas is the recipient of a hefty government grant.
"Across the country, we gave a total of $623 million and that went to 47 projects in 22 states. Of that $623 million, right here in Texas, you guys won $100 million of that which is a very, very solid job. So congratulations," says Monje.
Monje says the grant money will be used to fill gaps in the national charging networks by investing in EV charging in communities, including rural and low-income areas.
"A recent study by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas says that North Texas is going to be the most explosive area of EV adoption in the state, and this area is going to need 75 times the amount of EV charging stations than it has right now," says Monje.
Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez, who also serves on the Regional Transportation Council, says he's confident this happened because of the collaboration between several entities, including the North Central Texas Council of Governments and DART.
He says winning this grant will benefit everyone.
"When we were studying all of this, we realized and noticed that there were no electric charging stations anywhere south of I-30 here in the city of Dallas. Well, that's no longer true. We now have them, we're getting them, we're gaining them and we won't stop until we make sure that every single historically divested neighborhood in the city of Dallas has access. Because there's no sense in purchasing an electric vehicle for yourself, if you don't have access to charge the electric vehicle," says Narvaez.
In addition to the charging stations, some of the grant money will be used to build five hydrogen fueling stations at truck stops in the DFW, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio areas.
"Texas is really well-suited to lead the deployment of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks because of the volume of freight traffic here, and the fact that there's an extensive hydrogen production capacity in the region," says Monje.
Monje acknowledges that many Texans in this oil and gas state won't be getting rid of their gas-powered vehicles anytime soon, but that we should be ready when they do.
"The future of the auto industry is electric. And the auto companies are running towards it. And what we're trying to do here is enable that future to happen and make sure that it actually happens in America, that it's built in America," says Monje.
Monje says there are currently more than 160,000 charging stations in the U.S., and that we're on track to beat President Biden's goal of 500,000 charging stations by 2026 four years ahead of schedule.