Kilmer Announces Major Federal Investment in Electric Trucking Hub at Port of Tacoma
TACOMA, WA – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced $12 million in new federal funding for the Northwest Seaport Alliance through the U.S. Department of Transportation Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. This grant is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest long-term investment in America’s infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.
With this new federal investment, the Northwest Seaport Alliance will manage a competitive program to develop one or more shared electric truck charging hubs, which will serve a network of about 4,500 heavy-duty trucks that provide cargo hauling services to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The project also will help reduce emissions from an estimated 300 diesel trucks, including greenhouse gas emissions that disproportionately impact disadvantaged, overburdened communities living near the seaports and along major freight corridors between Seattle and Tacoma.
“This is a big deal,” said Rep. Kilmer. “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are making historic investments that will directly impact folks’ lives for years. Let’s talk about what this means. It means the Port of Tacoma will have state-of-the-art charging stations to keep us a leader in global trade and to ensure that we have cleaner air from reduced emissions. It means that, throughout our state, the federal government is providing Washingtonians with the tools to create jobs and grow the economy. That’s good news.”
“I would like to thank Representative Kilmer for his years of dedication to both increasing the competitiveness of the NWSA and improving environmental sustainability in the Puget Sound region,” said Port of Tacoma Commission President Northwest Seaport Alliance Chair Kristin Ang. “His support of NWSA’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program is just one of many examples. The Alliance has made a voluntary commitment to reduce maritime emissions to zero by 2050 or earlier. Electrifying the drayage fleet serving our ports is a significant aspect of reaching our goal and building strategically located and affordable charging infrastructure is critical to the success of the zero-emission transition.”
“Thank you to Rep. Kilmer and our federal congressional delegation for supporting our application for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program,” said Port of Seattle Commission President and Northwest Seaport Alliance Co-Chair Hamdi Mohamed. “These grant funds will support the significant expansion of community-based truck charging infrastructure and fill a gap in equitable access to charging infrastructure for drayage drivers serving our ports.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizes $2.5 billion over five years for the CFI Program through two distinct grant funding categories and requires that 50% of the funding over five years is made available for each. This round of funding provides a total of $700 million from Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023 to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure and other alternative fueling infrastructure projects in urban and rural communities in publicly accessible locations, including downtown areas and local neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities.
The CFI Program builds on the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. EV chargers constructed with CFI funds must adhere to those same standards, a requirement that supports a consistent charging experience for users and ensures that our national charging network is convenient, reliable, and made in America. Applications for the next round of the CFI Discretionary Grant Program are expected to open in January 2024.
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