Gainesville receives federal award to fund new EV charging stations

Published on January 14, 2025

By Rossana Passaniti

The City of Gainesville has been awarded $11.65 million in grant funding through the federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Program, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced this month. The funds will enable the city to build 47 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the area; the dual-port stations would be capable of charging as many as 94 EVs at the same time.

Seventeen sites for the charging stations were proposed on the federal grant application in September. Municipal locations include the MLK, Jr. Multipurpose Center; Butler Plaza Transit Station; Sweetwater Wetlands Park; Depot Park; Gainesville City Hall; Eastside Community Center; Northside Park; SW Parking Garage and the Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center.

In cooperation with community partners, Alachua County and Gainesville Regional Utilities, additional sites for new charging stations were the Alachua County Health Department; Alachua County Tax Collector Office/Florida Department of Motor Vehicles; Sweetwater Preserve; Veterans Memorial Park; Cynthia Moore Chestnut Park; Tower Road Branch Library; University Air Center and the Gainesville Regional Airport.

“As EVs move onto the secondary market, we are already seeing increased demand for them, and this helps make certain usage can be citywide,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward. “There are going to be even more of them on the road than there are now, and that infrastructure for them is necessary. This is a very big deal,” he said.

Currently, there are 126 charging stations throughout the city. Stations in east Gainesville were proposed, in part, to reach underserved low- and moderate-income communities where private sector investment was unlikely, absent federal funding. The new chargers (Levels 2 and 3) also will help build out alternative fuel corridors – designated routes where drivers can easily find alternative fuel stations that provide options such as electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, natural gas or propane, instead of traditional fuels.

“The Biden administration has made historic investments to support the EV transition and make sure it’s made in America,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments will help states and communities build out a network of EV chargers in the coming years so that one day, finding a charge on a road trip will be as easy as filling up at a gas station.”

In the coming months, the city will secure a private contractor for the project, which will contribute $2.91 million, raising the total value of the project to $14.56 million. Later this year, the city will host community engagement sessions and, following design and site improvement work in 2026 at each location, installation of the charging stations should begin in late 2027.

The second round of grants, totaling $635 million, is made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, spurring private investments in the EV charging network and helping accelerate the nation’s transition to a clean energy economy.

In 2018, the Gainesville City Commission adopted a goal of net zero emissions by 2045.

“Transportation and energy generation remain the largest contributors of Gainesville’s carbon emissions,” said Gainesville Chief Resiliency Officer Dan Zhu. “This project will play a critical role in reducing those emissions,” she said.

Building a sustainable community, and mobility for all neighbors, are key principles of the city’s strategic plan.