The Maryland Department of Transportation will pay to install electric vehicle charging stations at 23 new sites along key state highways by the fall of 2025, thanks to a federal funding program.

The stations, with a total of 130 plugs, will be installed at gas stations, convenience stores, travel centers and shopping malls in 15 counties. The sites include several Royal Farms, Sheetz and Wawa stores around the state, the Towson Town Center and the outlet shops in West Ocean City.

“One of the major barriers potential EV owners face is a lack of chargers across the state,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld in a statement. “With these awards, we are taking a critical step forward in providing more options for Marylanders to travel worry-free.”

The stations are part of Maryland’s larger plan to build a total of 41 new charging stations along busy arteries, funded largely by the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. The federal NEVI program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, calls for charging stations approximately every 50 miles along key corridors of selected highways, including Interstates 95, 83 and 695.

The $12.1 million in charger funding announced Wednesday will go to companies selected by the Maryland Department of Transportation to deploy the chargers, including Tesla, Francis Energy and Gridwealth. That federal funding accounts for about 80% of the installation costs, but the companies are on the hook for the remaining 20%.

They also are responsible for maintaining the stations, and ensuring that they are operational at least 97% of the time during their first five years.

A state webpage shows that Maryland currently has more than 1,500 electric vehicle charging stations, of varying types. The stations announced Wednesday are called DC fast chargers, which can fully charge electric vehicles in an hour or less, said Deron Lovaas, MDOT’s chief of environment and sustainable transportation.

“These are fast chargers, but, as a driver, you’re probably going to want to go in and get something to drink or something to eat, or take advantage of any retail nearby,” Lovaas said. “So hopefully this will be good for business for stores nearby.”

Lovaas called NEVI the “marquee program” funding electric vehicle infrastructure, adding that Wednesday’s announcement is a “big leap” for Maryland’s charging network. This fall, MDOT will seek proposals for the remaining 18 NEVI stations that are planned, Lovaas said.

In order to meet its climate change obligations, including a pledge to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 60% (from 2006 levels) by 2031 and become carbon neutral by 2045, Maryland must rapidly scale up the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.

Transportation emissions made up 35% of Maryland’s climate-warming emissions as of 2020, largely because of gas-powered vehicles and diesel trucks.

Maryland’s climate plan, released in December, estimates that 1.33 million electric vehicles will need to be on state roads by 2031 to meet the state’s aggressive climate goals, and more Marylanders will need to use greener transportation options, such as public transit, bicycles and scooters.

As of June 30, there are about 108,500 electric vehicles registered in Maryland. That’s a 65% increase compared to Jan. 2023, according to MDOT.

“It is about 20 times as many as there were in 2015,” Lovaas said. “The growth curve is phenomenal.”

Shortly after he took office last year, Moore’s administration advanced Maryland’s adoption of California’s electric vehicle standard, which would require all new passenger cars sold in the state to be electric by 2035.

Maryland also adopted an “clean trucks” rule, requiring an increasing percentage of pickups, box trucks and vans sold in the state to be electric by 2035, but not 100%.

“Maryland takes a back seat to no one in advancing our clean energy goals, and today, we move one step closer to achieving a more sustainable future for all,” Moore said in a statement Wednesday.