The city of Indianapolis will receive $15 million in federal funding to install electric vehicle charging stations in Black communities after a grassroots coalition pushed for greater placement of EV infrastructure in urban neighborhoods.
Indy is one of 41 cities to be selected for a federal grant program that will expand EV charging infrastructure in communities across the country, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Aug. 27.
It comes after Black leaders spoke critically of the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, which they say failed to include diverse neighborhoods in Indianapolis. Each state was required to develop a plan to receive funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a flagship piece of legislation for the Biden-Harris administration.
The $15 million in funding is in addition to the $100 million already awarded to the Indiana Department of Transportation to build out the state’s charging network. Those chargers are expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
After INDOT released its EV infrastructure plan in 2022, a group of Black leaders formed the Indiana Alliance for Equity, Diversity Inclusion for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure & Economic Opportunities, a coalition representing faith-based organizations, business leaders and civil rights groups.
The group called for Black communities to obtain their “fair share” of the $100 million awarded to the Indiana Department of Transportation, with the goal of getting more EV charges placed in minority communities.
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, relayed the coalition’s concerns in a 2022 letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“It is critical to ensure that these transformative and once-in-a-generation opportunities are provided to all Hoosiers, particularly communities which have suffered from systemic discrimination and exclusion,” Carson wrote in the letter. “Of particular concern is the failure of this plan to provide connections to disconnected communities and the failure to adequately provide quantifiable inclusion of minority and disadvantaged businesses.”
Denise Abdul-Rahman, the leader of the coalition, said in a statement that the grant funding “signifies the culmination of two years of dedicated effort.”
Electric vehicles could make up as much as nearly half of global car sales by 2035, according to a 2024 analysis by Goldman Sachs Research.
Prices are expected to continue to decline as auto manufacturers ramp up production in the coming years. The average price paid for a new EV fell by $14,300 in 2023, according to data from Cox Automotive. That comes to about $2,800 more than the average cost for a new gasoline-fueled vehicle.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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