WASHINGTON — Virginia is using part of its Volkswagen emissions test-cheating settlement to pay for a statewide network of electric vehicle charging stations, and has chosen Los Angeles-based EVgo Services LLC as the lead contractor.
EVgo operates what is currently the largest public Direct Current electric vehicle fast charging network in the country, with more than 1,000 stations in 34 states, including several in the Washington and Baltimore areas.
EVgo’s 1,000 station to come on line is in Falls Church, Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the agency in charge of allocating Virginia’s $93.6 million share of the Volkswagen settlement, issued a request for proposals for a statewide EV charging network in September. The DEQ is allowed to allocate up to 15 percent of the settlement money, or $14 million, for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The Virginia fast charging network will prioritize the most heavily traveled corridors in the Commonwealth.
While the DEQ did not specify how many charging stations would be deployed as part of the expanded network, Virginia already has about 100 Direct Current fast-charging stations across the state.
Virginia has set a goal of reaching an electric vehicle adoption rate of 15 percent by 2027, or about 1 million electric vehicles on the road within the next decade.
Volkswagen was required to establish a $3 billion environmental mitigation trust as part of its settlements with states. Virginia’s DEQ is the lead agency acting on the state’s behalf as beneficiary to implement Virginia’s allocation from the settlement.
