Communities Taking Charge Accelerator

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

Joint Office of Energy and Tranportation (Joint Office)

Purpose

To fund innovative approaches to expanding EV adoption and charging access, particularly at the local level in urbanized areas where land use, density, car ownership rates, grid considerations, and other factors add further complexities to electrifying the transportation network while the demand for transportation access is at its highest density.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, for-profit entities, non-profit entities, state and local governmental entities, and Tribal Nations. There are three topic areas: (1) Solving for No-Home Charging: Expanding Charging Access for Privately Owned E-Mobility; (2) Expanding E-Mobility Solutions through Electrified Micro, Light and Medium-Duty Fleets; (3) Managed Charging for Clean Reliable Energy.

Decarbonization Considerations

Electric-micromobility options such as e-bikes, cargo e-bikes, and e-scooters can help provide equitable zero-emission mobility access at considerably lower cost for all households, but especially in dense, urban environments where trips are shorter distances and there is protected street infrastructure to support safe riding.

Equity Considerations

Projects will receive the highest score in the equity outcome criteria if (1) the project includes physical-barrier-mitigating land bridges, caps, lids, linear parks, and multimodal mobility investments that either redress past barriers to opportunity or that proactively create new connections and opportunities for disadvantaged and other communities that are underserved by transportation. (2) The project includes new or improved walking and bicycling infrastructure, reduces automobile dependence, and improves access for people with disabilities and proactively incorporates Universal Design. (3) The project includes new or improved freight access to disadvantaged and underserved communities to increase access to goods and job opportunities for those communities.

Helpful Tips

Half of the funds available in each fiscal year is reserved for projects greater than $500 million in cost, and half is reserved for projects greater than $100 million but less than $500 million in cost. Applications will be evaluated on six outcome criteria, economic analysis, project readiness, and statutory requirements.

Other Notes

DOT is combining three major discretionary grant programs and two fiscal years of funding into one Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant (MPDG) opportunity to reduce the burden for state and local applicants and increase the pipeline of “shovel-worthy” projects that are now possible because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.