Chicago Construction News staff writer
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) has awarded $25.1 million to 20 applicants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program.
Grants will fund 643 new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 141 locations throughout the state. The awards are based on a Notice of Funding Opportunity issued in late 2023, funded through Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan and authorized under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). In 2023, Illinois EPA awarded $12.6 million in Volkswagen Settlement funding for more than 300 new EV fast charging ports.
“Through these grants, Illinois will increase the number of fast charging ports by over 100 percent, resulting in nearly 1,000 more fast charging ports available for Illinois’ EV motorists and visitors,” said EPA Director John Kim. “This is significant progress in building out EV charging infrastructure throughout Illinois, with more opportunities on the way.”
These awards fund DCFC charging stations at publicly accessible locations (shopping centers, retail stores, gas stations, hotels, etc.) across the state. Additional points were awarded to projects in Equity Investment Eligible Communities.
The Illinois EPA also recently announced Round 2 of CEJA EV charging funding, which includes the same eligible private-sector applicants and Level 3 DCFC Chargers, while also opening eligibility to units of local government and Level 2 chargers.
More information about Round 2 is available at this link: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/driving-a-cleaner-illinois.html.
