Grants to help fund EV fast charging stations in Michigan

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Do you have the juice to drive along Michigan streets, roads and highways?

The state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) wants to make sure operators of electric vehicles have enough places to plug in.

Nearly $1.7 million in EGLE Charge Up Michigan Program grants will partially fund 36 EV DC fast charging stations with a total of 76 plug-in points for automobiles and light-utility vehicles along well-traveled routes.

The site owner, the electric utility that serves it and EGLE each will pay about a third of each station’s cost which includes site preparation, equipment installation, networking fees and signage.

Public and private entities still can apply for EGLE grants of up to $70,000 per station.

Funding for the grants comes from more than $9.7 million allocated to Michigan from the Volkswagen diesel emissions settlement.

EGLE Director Liesl Clark said the program is “a significant step toward an electrified transportation future that will keep Michigan in the forefront of cutting-edge mobility and writes another chapter in the state’s storied history of innovation in the transportation industry.”

Electric vehicles are expected to represent 33% of new vehicle sales by 2025, and 51% by 2030, according to Trevor Pawl, chief mobility officer with the state’s Future Mobility and Electrification office.