The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD) announced Tuesday it will receive approximately $73 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for electric vehicle infrastructure.
The LA DOTD said it would use the funds to deploy electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state. The funds are part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program funds available to state agencies that will cover 80 percent of the EV infrastructure expenses. States are required to match a minimum 20 percent of the expenses. The NEVI program also require each state to submit a deployment plan to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) by Aug. 1.
The LA DOTD said it has already begun working with Louisiana Clean Fuels, Inc., and Grant Management Group, LLC to submit the plan. Additionally, the agency submitted an alternative fuel corridor nomination to the FHWA on May 13 that designated routes for electric chargers and hydrogen fuel.
That plan is available for public comment until July 18, the department said.
The state said the plans would help the state reach its carbon reduction goals.
“Louisiana is among the most vulnerable states to the impacts of climate change. Louisianians are already experiencing direct physical, mental, and financial tolls as well as indirect impacts to social systems and ecosystems that are struggling to cope with extreme weather events, heat, drought, flooding, and other manifestations of climate change. As is the case globally, Louisiana’s low-income communities, communities of color, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized residents are hit especially hard,” the LA DOTD posted on its website. “These impacts are projected to get much worse over the coming decades if there is not significant global action to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Louisiana Climate Action Plan contains 28 strategies and 84 specific actions to reduce GHG emissions across the entire state’s economy. Under “Strategy 9” of the Transportation section of the Climate Action Plan, our task is to “accelerate adoption and accessibility of low- and zero-emission vehicles and fuels”. The successful deployment of electric vehicles will play a major role in our attempts to achieve our goals and meet our carbon emission reduction goals.”
The funding will be provided as $14 million payments over the next five years.