Maryland Department of Transportation Moves Forward with Plan to Expand State’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Soon, you’ll see more electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the state of Maryland as the Maryland Department of Transportation charges forward with those plans. The department today issued a Request for Proposals that could provide up to 40 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as part of Maryland’s plan for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. The charging stations will be built along the state’s 23 designated EV Alternative Fuel Corridors, which include interstates and major highways. Once fully built, there will be an EV charging site with at least four fast-charging ports every 50 miles along the corridors.
Additional Information from the Maryland Department of Transportation:
“Building out Maryland’s electric vehicle charging network is the first step to increasing the number of EVs on the roads and rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “EV ownership in Maryland continues to grow rapidly and all Marylanders deserve to have access to convenient and reliable electric vehicle charging.”
Maryland is on track to reach 100,000 electric vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2024, with more than 10 times that amount projected by the end of the decade. As of January, there are approximately 93,000 registered EVs in Maryland and nearly 1,600 EV charging stations across the state. Expanding the state’s network of fast-charging EV chargers will help Marylanders feel more at ease when they contemplate making the switch to EVs.
“Transportation makes up 40% of greenhouse gas emissions for Maryland, so we must build the critical infrastructure to meet our nation-leading climate goals,” said Maryland Department of Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain. “Having a reliable charging network is the key to unlocking the potential of electric vehicles.”
Through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, Maryland will receive $63 million in federal formula funding to expand the state’s network of fast-charging stations along our corridors and invest in community charging following full corridor buildout. The state will utilize a portion of this funding for this Request for Proposals process and award contracts to the best value bidders that will then design, build, operate, and maintain the charging stations.
“For electric vehicles to become fully ingrained across the country, we need to develop an expansive and reliable national network of charging stations. The first call for proposals in Maryland under the NEVI Plan is an important step forward in the state’s ongoing push to expand this vital network,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul G. Pinsky. “MEA is a proud partner in the effort to expand long-distance driving using electric vehicles and to build confidence in future EV owners that there are no limits to where they can drive.”
You can view Maryland’s 2023 National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan and find a link to the Request for Proposals on the state’s EV Charging Infrastructure website. To find out more about Maryland’s EV registrations and to see where charging stations are located in your community, you can search the “Maryland by the Numbers” dashboard. To learn more about the Maryland Department of the Environment’s and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s joint efforts to combat climate change, see Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, which includes driving the accelerated adoption of electric vehicles and deployment of EV charging stations.
