The City of Gainesville received $11.65 million in federal grant money from the United States Department of Transportation to build new electric vehicle charging stations, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The proposed 47 new charging stations would add to the city’s existing 126 stations. Many of the new locations target underserved lower-income communities in East Gainesville, the release said.
In 2018, the Gainesville City Commission adopted a goal of net zero emissions by 2045. The new charging stations will play a crucial role in meeting the city’s target, according to the release.
“As EVs move onto the secondary market, we are already seeing increased demand for them, and this helps make certain usage can be citywide,” Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said in the press release. “This is a very big deal.”
The locations initially submitted in the September grant application included the MLK, Jr. Multipurpose Center, Butler Plaza Transit Station, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Depot Park, Gainesville City Hall, Eastside Community Center, Northside Park, SW Parking Garage and the Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center.
The application also included the Alachua County Health Department, Alachua County Tax Collector Office, Sweetwater Preserve, Veterans Memorial Park, Cynthia Moore Chestnut Park, Tower Road Branch Library, University Air Center and the Gainesville Regional Airport.
The grant money is part of a larger $635 million package from the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of building 500,000 new charging stations by 2030, according to a statement from the U.S. DOT.
“These investments will help states and communities build out a network of EV chargers in the coming years so that one day, finding a charge on a road trip will be as easy as filling up at a gas station,” U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the statement.
Gainesville is set to search for a private contractor, which is slated to contribute an additional $2.91 million to the project. Throughout 2025, the city will hold community engagement sessions, the release said.
Installation of the new charging stations is expected to begin in late 2027.
Contact Daniel Bednar at dbednar@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Danielbednar5.
Daniel Bednar is a first-year political science major and the Criminal Justice reporter for The Alligator. When he's not writing, you can find him scuba diving in the Keys or flying airplanes.
