WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated $102 million to build a freight corridor for electric trucks along the U.S. West Coast.
The West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project, managed by the California Department of Transportation, will build charging and hydrogen refueling stations for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks along 2,500 miles of freight corridors in California, Oregon and Washington, according to the grant application.
The project aims to enable “zero-emissions movement of goods” along the corridor and connect major ports, freight centers and agricultural regions between the US border with Mexico and Canada. Construction of the charging stations is scheduled to begin in 2026.
“Decarbonizing the transportation and freight sector is critical to combating the climate crisis and protecting public health in communities along high-traffic corridors,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California).
“To successfully meet California’s important climate goals, we must expand our charging and fueling infrastructure across the state through groundbreaking projects like the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project.”
The West Coast project was by far the largest grant among 51 electric vehicle (EV) charging projects in 29 states and the District of Columbia, totaling $521 million, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
The money for the grants comes from the CFI grant program created by the bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021. The program provides $2.5 billion over five years to fund electric vehicle and alternative fuel charging infrastructure to help meet the Biden administration’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks.
“The Biden-Harris administration has taken action to ensure America leads the electric vehicle revolution, and the historic infrastructure package includes resources to support a nationwide electric vehicle charging network so all drivers have an accessible, reliable and convenient way to charge their vehicles,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The electric vehicle infrastructure contracts also include $11.8 million for Atlanta’s PowerUp program to supply the city’s fleet of light- and heavy-duty trucks, and $4.2 million for the Southeast Ohio Public Energy Council to install eight charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks along highways in Dayton, Athens and Logan.
Controversial programs receive support
The award of the West Coast Freight Corridor contract will help create both charging stations and hydrogen refueling stations to “support the zero-emission movement of goods locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” according to the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The state also views the grant as support for California’s progressive zero-emission trucking policies, including the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) programs, which require an increasing percentage of both truck sales and new trucks to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
“In 2023, one in six new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in California was a zero-emissions vehicle, exceeding the state’s ZEV sales goals two years ahead of schedule,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
In May, a group of 17 states filed suit to stop the ACF while California waits for an exemption from the Environmental Protection Agency. The suit is similar to a similar suit filed by 19 states last year to stop the ACT. Opponents of the two programs argue that they actually represent a costly national scheme because of the size of the state and their economic impact.
Newsom, who welcomed the funding, disagrees.
“From installing truck chargers to improving our airports, this latest federal funding is another opportunity for America’s exports to look west in transporting goods while tackling our climate crisis,” he said in a statement.
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