The Administration opened applications last week for $1.3 billion in funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways. The program awarded $622.6 million in funding at the beginning of this year.
Tower services companies have the skill sets needed to diversify into EV charging station construction, according to Chiaren Cushing, VP and Head of Business Development at Crown Castle speaking at the Connectivity Expo 2024 in Atlanta.
The funding was made possible by the Infrastructure Law’s EV charging investments: the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program and funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program that are set aside for strategic grants to states and local governments to deploy EV chargers.
In related news, Shell plans to divest from 1,000 gas stations in the next two years and nearly quadruple the number of public charging points that it operates from 54,000 up to 200,000 by 2030, according to Shell’s recently published report Energy Transition 2024. The company has already doubled its public charging points from 27,000 in 2022.
“We are growing our electric vehicle charging business to support customers who choose to change from a petrol or diesel vehicle to an electric one,” the company said.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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