Using funds from the Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement, MDE will accept applications for proposals on charging infrastructure until April 15, 2022.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), in coordination with the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), recently announced that they would begin accepting applications for the second of three rounds of funding under the Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement. Applicants have until the close of business on April 15, 2022, to submit applications. Maryland received roughly $11.3 million as part of a settlement with the company regarding falsified pollution data. In August of last year, the administration announced the first round, totaling $3.7 million across 37 EV charging station sites.
Under the settlement, the state created two grant programs, Charge Ahead (CAGP) & Electric Corridors (ECGP).
The CAGP focuses on employee charging by distributing funds to facilitate charging station deployment at state-owned facilities and private and other public workplaces. Employee access to charging infrastructure at workplaces is critical to meeting ZEV adoption goals; besides at home, the workplace is the next most likely location a ZEV driver will charge. . . .
The ECGP distributes funds to facilitate interstate and intrastate travel with ZEVs. To achieve this goal, funds will support projects to enhance and extend the ZEV infrastructure network on hightraffic routes between population hubs. Specifically, funds will be used to deploy Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) along Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designated alternative fuel corridors.
No information has been given as to how much will be allocated for the latest round of funding.