Feds give Michigan $110M to install 127 EV chargers

The state of Michigan will get $110 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, through fiscal year 2026, to build out 127 chargers for electric vehicles. That comes out to roughly $866,141 per installed charger.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, will take the lead role in spending the money.

The state’s MI Healthy Climate Plan calls for building charging resources for a projected 2 million EVs by 2030 — up from just 17,500 in 2021.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has requested $65 million in the 2024 budget to build yet more charging resources. The federal funds will augment that effort.

Read it for yourself: The Michigan EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan

The federal funds come from the Infrastructure Act. EGLE will collaborate with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Public Service Commission, and the state Office of Future Mobility and Electrification on the EV infrastructure project.

On March 1, DTE Energy switched millions of customers in Southeast Michigan to peak-hour pricing, with rates rivaling those in California. But as the Detroit Free Press has reported, EV charging will continue at discounted rates, even at peak hours.

Taxpayer funding for charging resources and lower energy rates for charging equipment are just two ways EV buyers will be subsidized. The governor seeks $48 million over two years in sales and use tax exemptions for EV buyers, and there is a $7,500 federal subsidy for purchases of certain EVs.

Last year in her State of the State address, Whitmer proposed a $2,000 state rebate for EV buyers.

“Thank you for putting the United States on a path to a nationwide network of EV chargers that can ensure a convenient, affordable, reliable, and equitable charging experience for all users,” wrote Gloria M. Shepherd, an associate administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation in a Sept. 14, 2022, letter to Paul Ajegba, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation. The letter announced federal approval of Michigan’s plan for charging stations.

The road to two million EVs in Michigan by 2030 will be subsidized with taxpayer money.