The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is awarding another $1.91 million for new public electric vehicle chargers across North Carolina, filling gaps in the state’s charging network along highways and in rural communities.
Awards from the Community and Destination Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program will support the installation of 25 new DC Fast charging ports at 13 sites, including state parks, shopping centers, gas stations, town centers and hotels. A full list of awards is online.
“This investment will protect our air quality and public health, boost North Carolina’s clean energy economy, and enhance the accessibility of electric vehicle charging for North Carolinians,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “Transportation is the leading source of climate-warming pollution, and by expanding our EV charging network we’ll make it easier for owners of zero-emission vehicles to charge up and drive air pollution down.”
These projects will prevent more than 657 tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and will also avoid 125 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions and 1,191 pounds of volatile organic compound emissions — air pollution that harms the climate and public health.
Most of the funding was awarded to projects in rural counties, and many projects are powered in full through Renewable Energy Credits, certificates that verify that electricity was generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro power.
The funding comes from the state’s $92 million share of a national settlement with Volkswagen. After distributing most of the funds across two phases of grants, DEQ is allocating unspent funds from canceled projects into this new grant opportunity. DEQ does not anticipate having any additional funds from the Volkswagen Settlement to distribute.
DEQ awarded 15% of its settlement funds — the maximum allowed by the trust agreement — toward electric vehicle infrastructure projects in the state. Other grants supported clean vehicle replacements, including all-electric school buses and transit buses.