February 7, 2025
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Trump will stop funding to build electric car chargers nationwide
The Trump administration has stopped funding for the $5 billion program Congress created to help states build electric vehicle charging networks
An electric vehicle from the Electric America Charging Station in Atlanta, Georgia.
Megan Burner/Bloomberg via Getty Images
ClimateWire | The Trump administration has freezing funds for a $5 billion program to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations.
Federal Highway Bureau I sent a letter on Thursday It says the state’s transportation sector will not have a “new funding obligation” under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program.
The agency said it has suspended approved state implementation plans that allow states to access NEVI funds automatically allocated through a congressional formula. The FHA has also suspended approval of the new plan. The state submits plans annually to explain where and how they plan to build chargers.
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The move comes after two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to end a wide freeze on federal aid.
The FHA letter said the state will not be able to submit new plans until the state updates its NEVI program guidance and therefore will not have access to funds. DOT’s leadership plans to comply with orders from Transportation Secretary Shawn Duffy and prioritize community funding. High birth rate and marriage rate For those who enforce federal immigration laws, according to the letter.
The FHA letter specifies that while freezing the new obligations, “refunds of existing obligations will be permitted to avoid disrupting current financial commitments.”
A move to freeze the Nevi fund could draw legal challenges from the states supporting the program.
“We are confident that states that have signed contracts for many construction work over the past few years are seeking explanations about what is listed in the law and the subject of DOT policy changes,” the executive director said. Albert Gore said. Zero Emission Transport Association.
Nevi was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 as part of a $7.5 billion effort to expand EV charging. The program is the third year since its five-year approval, and a lot of money has already been spread across the state, says Ryan Gallentine, managing director at Advanced Energy United, an industry association for EV makers and charging companies. It states. .
“The state is not obligated to suspend these projects based solely on this announcement, he said in a statement.
Nevy is a well-known part of the Biden administration’s efforts to promote electric vehicles, including a tax billions of dollars on factories and battery plants and a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing EVs. These carrots were combined with regulatory sticks. The EPA has written strict emissions standards to push the automotive industry towards EVS. DOT wrote fuel economy standards to make gas-powered cars more efficient.
President Donald Trump has pledged to oppose the program as an “EV mandate” and remove it.
He has signed an executive order “unleashing American energy.” Specifically, the target Nevi has funded agents to freeze funds from the Inflation Reduction and Infrastructure Act. Two courts have ordered the administration to stop the freeze on funding, but the Trump administration It’s slow to follow.
Nevi’s goal is to create a network of rapid charging stations every 50 miles on major highways. This helps reduce the anxiety that many EV supporters consider to be an adoption barrier. The office overseeing funds known as the Joint Energy and Transportation Agency, was able to convince the car manufacturers to adopt a single standard of charging software and connectors that connect to the car.
However, the program was slow to roll out and the process of writing rules and approving state plans has been dragged for a long time, so no chargers were built in the first two years.
Some states, especially rural states like Wyoming, also have programs. The rules were too restrictive. They argued that the requirement to find the first charger near the interstate would require them to be built along a near-untilted area far from a few towns in the area.
Alabama It was announced in January Don’t build chargers using Nevi funds.
Approximately 59% of the government’s broad $7.5 billion claim funds are fully mandated, with strong demand for the remaining $3.3 billion. I said it in January.
This story also appears EnergyWire.
Reprinted from E&E News With permission from Politico, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news to energy and environmental experts.
