Pennsylvania Announces Second Round of NEVI Funding

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Last year, Pennsylvania beat every other state to the punch.

Like many other highway projects, the infrastructure bill’s EV charging provisions works with state departments of transportation to get the job done. States were required to submit EV charging plans, get them approved by the federal DOT, and then receive a portion of the funding to complete the plan. At that point, states then must receive proposals, bids, and plans for sites, and then choose from those before awarding money to start the construction process.

Sadly, many states are still struggling to get the first year’s projects started. Bureaucratic processes are to blame in some ways, but at the same time, highway projects usually take months or years to complete, so this new project enters that “no rush” process.

Pennsylvania’s DOT managed to get things going a lot faster. Locations were announced the better part of a year ago for year one, and the state was among the first to actually open an EV charging station, too. Now, the state has moved on to the second year of funding, again at record speed!

The announcement includes 29 projects in 19 counties across the state. These were largely selected to fill gaps from the year one plan. For those unfamiliar, states were required to submit plans to place an EV charging station with at least four stalls that can output a minimum of 150 kW at the same time. These stations must be no more than 50 miles from the last one, with some exceptions available for places where power isn’t available or other obstacles justify a larger gap. So, the state’s alternative fuel corridors needed to get these stations to comply with the law.

This represents another $20 million out of the $171.5 million the state is set to receive in total, and it appears that the state’s DOT prioritized the process instead of running it through slowly like most other projects. After all, we’re talking about charging stations and not bridges or roads.

“Every federal dollar directed toward EV charging is one step closer to a vision of accessible and reliable infrastructure that supports electric transportation,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Governor Shapiro, has been among the states leading the charge to distribute NEVI funds to give drivers confidence while promoting sustained environmental benefits.”

Altogether, this puts the total number of projects for the first two batches of funding so far to 83, spread across 41 counties. And, the state is already making moves to get the ball rolling on the next batch ASAP.

Locations Selected

Here is a list of the places selected for this second round of funding and how much is getting allocated for each, organized by county and with both the location and selected company named:

• Adams County
  • $652,736 to eCAMION USA, Inc. for a charging station at Perkins in Gettysburg (US-30, Mile Marker 212)
• Allegheny County
  • $768,310 to EVgo Services, LLC for a charging station at Sheetz in Pittsburgh (I-76, Exit 48)
• Berks County
  • $852,104 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Reading (US-422, Exit 316)
• Carbon County
  • $451,353 to Universal EV, LLC for a charging station at Hampton Inn in Lehighton (I-476, Exit 74)
• Chester County
  • $969,304 to CarCharge, LLC for a charging station at Marriot in Coatesville (US-30, Exit 293)
  • $667,936 to Landhope Corporation for a charging station at Landhope Farms in Oxford (US-1, Exit 7)
  • $907,508 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Phoenixville (US-422, Exit 347)
• Clearfield County
  • $432,950 to BP Products North America, Inc. for a charging station at BP in Clearfield (I-80, Exit 120)
• Columbia County
  • $797,125 to Reliance 3, LLC for a charging station at Your Choice in Bloomsburg (I-80, Exit 232)
• Cumberland County
  • $750,000 to Applegreen Electric PA, LLC for a charging station at the PA Turnpike service plaza in Newburg (I-76, Mile Marker 202)
  • $790,000 to Applegreen Electric PA, LLC for a charging station at the PA Turnpike service plaza in Carlisle (I-76, Mile Marker 219)
  • $811,077 to Francis Energy PA, LLC for a charging station at McKinney Station Restaurant and Ice Cream in Newburg (I-76, Exit 201)
• Dauphin County
  • $650,000 to Applegreen Electric PA, LLC for a charging station at the PA Turnpike service plaza in Middletown (I-76, Mile Marker 250)
• Delaware County
  • $831,803 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Wayne (US-30, Mile Marker 317)
  • $800,870 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Upper Darby (US-1, Mile Marker 46)
  • $811,434 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Media (US-1, Mile Marker 36)
• Erie County
  • $851,772 to Blink Network, LLC for a charging station at GetGo in Erie (I-79, Exit 184)
• Fulton County
  • $281,934 to Tesla, Inc. for a charging station at 522 Pit Stop in Fort Littleton (I-76, Exit 180)
• Lancaster County
  • $672,408 to Francis Energy PA, LLC for a charging station at Sheetz in Columbia (US-30, Exit 257)
  • $556,424 to Lancaster Travel Places, LLC for a charging station at Lancaster Travel Plaza in Lancaster (US-30, Mile Marker 273)
  • $622,333 to TH Minit Markets, LLC for a charging station at Turkey Hill Minit Market in Denver (I-76, Exit 286)
• Lebanon County
  • $625,000 to Applegreen Electric PA, LLC for a charging station at the PA Turnpike service plaza in Lawn (I-76, Mile Marker 259)
  • $731,099 to Francis Energy PA, LLC for a charging station at Sheetz in Palmyra (US-422, Mile Marker 276)
• Luzerne County
  • $399,768 to FLO Services USA, Inc. for a charging station at Sonic in Hazelton (I-81, Exit 143)
• Lycoming County
  • $737,106 to Sheetz, Inc. for a charging station at Sheetz in Muncy (I-180, Exit 13)
  • $794,350 to Wawa, Inc. for a charging station at Wawa in Williamsport (I-180, Exit 28)
• Mercer County
  • $704,968 to Francis Energy PA, LLC for a charging station at Shell in Mercer (I-80, Exit 15)
• Philadelphia County
  • $815,120 to the Philadelphia Parking Authority for a charging station in Philadelphia (US-30, Mile Marker 331)
• Somerset County
  • $281,694 to Tesla, Inc. for a charging station at Wendy’s in Somerset (I-76, Exit 110)

Some Notable Things

One name I noticed a lot was Wawa. While there are none near me and I’m not familiar with it, I know from social media that people love their Wawa stations. Friendly well-treated staff, good food, and a good environment for waiting around sounds like a good place for EV charging stations. At least six of the 20 stations are going to be installed at Wawa parking lots.

Another notable winner was Tesla. For people who love all things Tesla and own the stock, you’ll be happy to hear that two Supercharger locations will be funded by this announcement. 

Francis Energy is also going to be expanding more with these funds. While they’ve been kind of expensive and unreliable in New Mexico, they seem to be doing better in Oklahoma and other states in which the company has won. So, hopefully Pennsylvania gets better service than we’re getting.

Finally, another big winner was the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Unlike interstate highways, there’s no restriction on opening charging stations on turnpike rest areas. Because there’s no restriction on allowing businesses to operate, the turnpike “service plazas” are a lot more fully featured than most rest areas you’d see in other states. So, this was a natural place to add EV charging. Five more plazas will be getting chargers now.

Featured image by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority, showing a service plaza’s commercial offerings.