John J. Kim, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency director, says Round Two grants are available to fund the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure at publicly accessible locations. This opportunity is funded by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan and authorized under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The Notice of Funding Opportunity and related documents have been posted to the Illinois EPA website.
“Illinois is leading the clean energy revolution, and my administration is building on our momentum by investing in public EV chargers across our state,” says Pritzker. “Thanks to our $44 million investment, public and private organizations will now be able to install and maintain the infrastructure we need to encourage more EV drivers.”
“Illinois EPA is excited to offer another funding opportunity, which extends eligibility to include units of local government and publicly available Level 2 charging ports,” says Kim. “This funding opportunity complements the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding being implemented through the Illinois Department of Transportation and will build on the Pritzker administration’s commitment to electric vehicle growth in Illinois.”
Each application must include a minimum of two publicly accessible charging station locations. See the Notice of Funding Opportunity for funding amounts, power levels and number of charging ports per location.
Additional points will be awarded to projects at a charging station location in an area identified as an Equity Investment Eligible Community through the EIEC mapping tool. Communities qualify for the additional points if they are in an EJ and/or an R3 Community, as identified using the EIEC mapping tool. Applicants will also receive additional points for applying to build chargers at public transportation park-and-ride facilities.
Eligible applicants include units of local government and private organizations (including sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies) that are incorporated under Illinois law and registered and in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State. Eligible applicants must be the owner of a proposed charging station location and/or the owner of the proposed charging station. Both Level 3 DC Fast Charging and Level 2 charging ports are eligible for funding.
All required forms and information can be found on the Driving a Cleaner Illinois website. Applications for the Driving a Cleaner Illinois — Climate and Equitable Jobs Act EV Charging NOFO will be accepted March 22, 2024, through 5 p.m. Central on May 10, 2024.
The Illinois EPA expects to name the Round One awardees in the coming weeks.