Thanks to a grant from the federal Department of Transportation, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has received $6.1 million for 300-400 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports across the 20-county region. Notably, the program will focus on putting chargers in areas currently lacking much EV charging infrastructure “to support equity in the region’s EV transition.”
The chargers will be of the Level 2 variety (mean a charging rate of 4-10 hours from empty), as opposed to the Level 1 charger (roughly the same as a common residential outlet) or the high speed Level 3 that takes less than an hour. They will be placed within or near disadvantaged communities at 75-100 existing charging sites.
“As a region, we must prepare for the EV revolution that we know is coming, in a way that ensures no community is left behind,” said Anna Roach, Executive Director & CEO of the ARC. “We are grateful that the U.S. Department of Transportation chose to invest in the Atlanta region’s future.”
There are currently about 2,000 publicly accessible charging stations of these types across metro Atlanta. This round of installation is expected to take 12-18 months.
“Charging infrastructure right now is clustered in more affluent and more densely developed areas of our region,” said John Orr, Managing Director of Transportation Planning at ARC. “These funds provide an opportunity to not only expand the total number of available high-quality charging stations but also fill in some of these gaps that present a barrier to EV adoption.”
Rep. Lucy McBath was one of several in Georgia’s Democratic Congressional delegation to send a letter to the Department of Transportation asking for approval of the grant.
“With this grant award, metro Atlanta is well-positioned to be a leader in electrification and an example for the nation,” said Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA &). “I was proud to lead this letter with my congressional colleagues and demonstrate to Secretary Buttigieg how the Atlanta Regional Commission’s plan will widen the availability of charging infrastructure for Georgia’s growing electric vehicle industry while sending benefits to historically underserved communities.”
The announcement from ARC comes the same week that Congress and the White House are arguing in Washington over “Buy America” requirements for the charging stations and their parts. The Biden administration had issued a waiver for the Buy America rule for EV chargers but a bill from Florida Senator Marco Rubio would override the waiver. That bill passed the Senate and then passed the House on Thursday – 209-198.
The bill is roughly along party lines, with Republicans supporting the Buy American requirements that Democrats and the White House warn will make the infrastructure more expensive and implementation a lengthier process. The White House also said the elimination of the waiver would more broadly weaken Buy America requirements by reverting the process to a more general waiver allowing Federal Highway Administration funding to be spent on internationally made products and parts. Sen. Rubio disagreed with their analysis.
“The bottom line is this,” Sen. Rubio said on the Senate floor. “If we’re going to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money to build electric vehicle charging stations for the United States, it should be made by Americans, in America, using American products.”
