JACKSON, Wyo. — One of the largest budget items for the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) for the Town of Jackson is $5.5 million allocated to Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station installment and infrastructure throughout the town and surrounding areas.
The FY27 budget was approved in a June 15 Town Council meeting with a number of bigger line items on capital projects, including the new locker rooms and grandstands at Snow King Sports & Events Center and pedestrian crosswalk improvements.
While approximately $5.5 million for EV projects is listed in the FY27 budget, most of that funding is passing through the Town as the recipient of a Department of Transportation Community Fueling and Infrastructure (DOT CFI) grant for projects throughout the region.
The EV charging ports in the town will cost around $628,000 of that funding. It will result in 20 charging ports across five locations in Jackson: the Deloney parking lot, Miller Park, the Recreation Center, an area near Phil Baux Park and the gravel lot on the east side of the Snow King Sports & Events Center. The remaining funds from the grant will go to EV infrastructure throughout the region.
Executive Director of Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities (YTCC) Alicia Cox spoke highly of the project. “As an organization we were trying to advance [clean energy] … and did a lot of outreach to let other communities know that [the DOT CFI grant] was available and to apply for it,” Cox told Buckrail.
Cox said that she believed the grant was awarded especially because of the partnership of organizations in town and in the surrounding areas.
Ten community partners were involved in the application process, including the Jackson Hole Airport, Teton Village Association, Grand Teton Lodge Company, Teton County, Teton County Library, Central Wyoming College, Teton Education Association, Yellowstone National Park service stations, Xanterra, and YTCC. Cox said those partnerships were instrumental in strengthening the grant application.
Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator Tanya Anderson said the project has reached what the federal government calls “phase one funding obligated,” meaning the grant funding has officially been secured and design work is underway.
Before construction can begin, the Town must submit its plans for review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Anderson said that environmental documentation is already being prepared, and that construction is most likely to begin next spring, with work continuing under the federal grant term through the end of 2027.
