Washington businesses, Tribes, nonprofits, public entities, and multi-family residences are eligible to apply for new funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

The Washington Department of Ecology is offering a total of $3.5 million in grants over the next two years to purchase and install Level 2 charging stations and upgrade existing charging stations in public, fleet, workplace, and residential locations.

The “Charge Where You Are” grants are intended to attract applicants from a wide range of community groups over multiple funding rounds. The first installment will distribute $1 million, with priority given to projects in rural areas, as well as neighborhoods with limited access to EV charging and communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution. Funding for the grants comes from Washington’s Volkswagen diesel emissions settlement. Applications for the first round are open today through Nov. 16.

“Not everyone lives where they can charge an EV in their garage every night,” said Molly Spiller, manager of the Pollution Reduction Grants Section in Ecology’s Air Quality Program. “By making more charging stations available in apartments, multi-family homes, workplaces, and public locations, such as parks and libraries, we can help make EV ownership a reality for more drivers.”

With a 240-volt output, Level 2 chargers are commonly used in offices and public spaces. Although slower than the fast chargers found along highways and major road corridors, they can recharge most EVs in 4 to 10 hours.

“Together with other state and federal grants for EV charging infrastructure, these new Ecology grants are another big step towards Washington’s clean transportation future,” said Kathy Taylor, Air Quality Program manager. “We estimate the Level 2 projects we fund will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 2,200 tons per year.”

Ecology anticipates opening additional grants for faster, direct current (DC) EV charging stations in 2024.