State agencies announce funding for electric vehicle charging stations

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  • The State of Oklahoma seeks to add to its network of charging stations to increase the use of electric vehicles. Ledger photo by Chris Martin
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OKLAHOMA CITY – A grant program funded by the Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust is aimed at increasing the number of Oklahoma’s light-duty electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The announcement was made Tuesday by the Oklaho- ma Department of Environmental Quality and the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment.

Applications will be accepted through Sept. 8, officials said.

The ChargeOK Grant Program has approximately $1.1 million available for reimbursement grants on a competitive basis for the purchase, installation, and operation of publicly accessible EV charging stations throughout Oklahoma.

Through this program, the State of Oklahoma seeks to add to the strategic network of charging stations to increase the use of EVs in place of gas-powered cars to mitigate harmful air emissions.

The ChargeOK Grant Program, with consideration for existing and planned investments of charging stations throughout Oklahoma, is offering incentives for additional projects based on 15 site locations chosen to fill in the EV charging network in Oklahoma. Only projects located within 10 miles of those 15 locations will be considered for the grant.

Those towns include Altus, Duncan, Hobart and Clinton.

For a full description of program requirements and eligibility, review the grant solicitation which can be found at https://www.deq.ok.gov/ air-quality-division/ volkswagen-settlement/ chargeok-oklahoma- electric-vehicle-charging- program.

To learn more about the ChargeOK Grant Program, visit https://www.deq. ok.gov/air-quality-divi- sion/volkswagen-settle- ment/ or email questions to VWSettlement@deq. ok.gov.