GRAYSLAKE – Following the announcement that $18.4 million in grants are being awarded to build 25 charging stations for electric vehicles along interstate corridors, State Senator Mary Edly-Allen highlighted the importance of Gurnee being selected as one of the locations, bolstering clean energy jobs and expanding transportation options in Lake County.

“Investing in expanding Illinois’ clean energy economy encourages more Illinoisans to purchase EVs, reducing emissions and protecting our environment,” said Edly-Allen (D- Grayslake). “As the climate crisis continues to directly affect our daily life, we must create realistic and reliable solutions.”

The 25 projects throughout the state were chosen via a competitive call for projects and will include a total of 167 new charging ports. All of the awards are contingent on the selected recipients entering into a grant agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation. Through the second round of grants, Tesla Inc. at Target located at 6601 Grand Ave. in Gurnee will be receiving over $590,000 to build 16 ports.

In Illinois, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program focuses on building out Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs) with a maximum distance of 50 miles between EV chargers and within one mile of the road. The program aims to achieve a full build-out of the state's AFCs by providing at least four charging ports with a minimum of 150 kW of power across all ports.

The funding is made possible through the second round of the NEVI program, which is helping to invest in communities and generate economic development while advancing the state's goal to have a million EVs registered in Illinois by 2030.

For a full list of grant recipients, view here.