The Trump administration has declared it is retracting guidance A $5 billion program to fund EV charging facilities Nationally, it could halt the state’s plans to work billions of obligations but still unused dollars. This is the new administration’s latest attack on the federal climate and clean energy program approved by Congress during the Biden administration, and like other administrations, it is almost certain to be challenged in court. says.
There was unexpected news Thursday’s notes From the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) to the state’s transportation department responsible for managing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. That’s what Nevy was like Created by a bipartisan infrastructure law It was passed by Congress in 2021 and established reliable charging along major highways around the country. The program is configured to ensure states have access to funding under federally approved plans by fiscal year 2026.
The memo says the FHWA is “immediately suspending approval” of these state plans as they await review by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The state “refunds of existing obligations will be permitted to avoid disrupting current financial commitments,” the memo notes. However, there will not be a “new obligation” until new guidance is developed and the state has submitted and received approval of the updated plan.
The instructions in this memo are inconsistent with long-standing practices of states guaranteeing access to federal highway spending and the structure of the NEVI program set by Congress in the Infrastructure Act. I’m doing it.
“Freezing these EV charging funds is another of the Trump administration’s unhealthy and illegal moves,” says Catherine Garcia, director of clean transport for all the Sierra Club campaigns. Friday’s Statement. “This is an attack on bipartisan fundraising that Congress approved years ago, and drives investment and innovation in all states with Texas as its biggest beneficiary.” A lonely star state. I plan to receive it Almost $408 million from the program.
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Of the $5 billion approved by Nevi, all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico are mandated $3.27 billion, according to EV-Charging Data Firm. Paren. Of that, around $615 million have contracts to build around 1,000 charging sites, said Lauren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren. Webinar last month.
In an email Thursday, McDonald emphasized that “companies that have contracts with the state and incur costs will be refunded.” At the same time, “Experts in Washington, DC believe that such changes to Nevi in recent months will require a change in law from Congress.”
“Our understanding is that the FHWA has no authority to actually suspend or modify the Nevy program widely, but it caused havoc for months until the lawsuit, courts and legislature settle it, and It will wreak havoc until it is resolved,” he wrote.
Under the Biden administration, funding for the NEVI Formula Program was allocated for fiscal 2026, and the FHWA approved the state’s annual spending plan in fiscal 2025 through Kelsey Blongewicz, a policy analyst at the research firm. Atlas Public PolicyHe spoke to Canary Media last month.
Beth Hamon, a senior EV infrastructure advocate for Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote that the funds are “connected to approved state plans and contracts.” Blog post last month.
Still, the new FHWA directives “create great uncertainty in billions of dollars states and private companies investing in the urgently needed infrastructure to support the American highway transport network. ” said Ryan Gallentine, managing director of Advanced Energy United, in a statement Thursday. Industry associations represent EV makers, infrastructure developer charging, and other companies involved in Nevi-funded projects.
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“The state is not obligated to suspend these projects based solely on this announcement,” he wrote. “We are urging state dots and program administrators to continue running this program until the new guidance is completed.”
President Donald Trump attacked the Nevi program on EVS and the campaign trail. His administration issued an executive order within hours of his inauguration. Stop all Biden-era climate and clean energy spending We have selected the Nevi program for scrutiny.
Federal agencies have since stopped tens of millions of dollars in federal climate and clean energy funding, drawing anger from state agencies, nonprofits and their businesses. I can’t collect the money I’ve already spent About the projects and programs. Two federal judges responded to lawsuits challenging the freeze Court order demanding suspension To them, but many Programs are not accessibleaccording to a report from the grant recipient.
The confusion over the future of the Nevi program comes at a moment when significant investments are beginning to flow from the state into charging network providers, including EV charging manufacturers and Tesla, after years of bureaucratic and administrative delays. Federal Government Data as of November We tracked 126 operational public charging ports on 31 sites built using Nevi’s funds.
The Biden administration hoped for it It will promote the build-out of 500,000 public charging stations from around 206,000 today. The Nevi program is not intended to build all these chargers themselves, and will help to install them in places where the economics that provide EV charging is not yet supported by the number of EVs on the road He said.
“In many states, the NEVI program jumpstarts investments in high-speed EV charging stations, acquire fast chargers at gas stations, and trucks stop where millions of drivers are already stopped each year,” Friday In a statement, the trade group representing the fuel supply station owners and convenience store chains, and the convenience store chains that make up most of Nevi’s charging sites. “The other states limped.”
According to McDonald, Nevie has abolished work that has been repealed indefinitely, including Ohio, the Republican-led state that installed the program’s first live charger in 2023 since being elected by the Trump administration. I did.
update: In an email Friday, a spokesman for the FHWA said that the agency “utilized powers provided under the NEVI Formula Program to enable the program to operate efficiently and effectively, and that it is currently in the US DOT policy. and make sure it matches your priorities.”
