Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced a $46 million plan Tuesday to boost electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure to meet the state’s climate goals as ratepayers drown under exorbitant energy bills. [emphasis, links added]
Healey’s office announced Tuesday that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) will funnel millions from a trust in part funded by ratepayers to support EV charging infrastructure through the fiscal year of 2027 and unveiled its updated EV plan in tandem with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council (EVICC).
Massachusetts has some of the highest energy bills in the U.S. and strict climate goals, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050 and almost a million EVs on the road by 2030.
“Massachusetts remains a national leader in deploying EV charging, ranking first in charger density nationally,” Healey’s office said in a statement. “However, the EVICC Assessment finds that EV charger deployment needs to increase to meet demand from EV drivers and the Commonwealth’s climate requirements.”
Massachusetts needs to significantly ramp up its public EV charging station build-out to meet its 2030 target, state officials said Tuesday.
Funds will support $16 million in EV charging infrastructure at workspaces and public locations, as well as $30 million for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle chargers.
Funding will primarily stem from the Climate Protection and Mitigation Expendable Trust (CMT), established in 2018, which is “ultimately funded by ratepayers,” according to MassDEP. The plan will not add any additional costs or fees to the ratepayer or taxpayer, according to Healey’s office.
Massachusetts has historically supported several expensive green energy projects that have been linked to higher energy bills, including offshore wind farms like Vineyard Wind and the defunct Cape Wind project.
In March, several climate activist groups wrote to Healey, urging the state to lower soaring utility costs, [despite Massachusetts adopting] the very initiatives that green groups champion, which are linked to climbing energy bills.
“More important than the forecast of future EV charging infrastructure are the state’s priorities and strategy for building EV charging infrastructure,” the assessment reads. “Clear priorities and a coordinated strategy to effectuate those priorities will ensure that public funding is optimized and progress towards a robust EV charging network continues regardless of federal policy and market uncertainty or future EV adoption rate.”
The effort will also pay special attention to “environmental justice populations,” which reflects the former Biden administration’s goals.
The Biden administration had also planned to build out half a million public EV chargers to support his climate initiatives, though it only built a few hundred under two billion-dollar programs, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
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