- After a court order, the Trump administration will resume using federal funds to build electric vehicle (EV) chargers
- The nation’s EV charging network has been growing without federal help
The Trump administration will resume sending federal funds to states so they can build out the nation’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
A Biden-era law set aside $5 billion to build new public EV chargers. But the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program moved very slowly. It left the vast majority of funds unspent when Trump took office.
The Trump administration paused spending the money in February, one of many steps it has taken to reduce federal support for a transition to EVs. A court ruled in June that the president did not have the right to withhold money Congress had already allocated.
Construction may move more quickly now. Bloomberg reports that updated guidance issued by the Department of Transportation “eliminates earlier requirements, such as ensuring disadvantaged communities have access to EV chargers and promoting the use of union labor in installation.”
Related: EV Charging Stations: Everything You Need to Know
A recent report found that the nation’s charging infrastructure has been expanding quickly even without federal help. Even with taxpayer funding paused, America was on pace to open 2.4 times as many fast chargers this year as it did in 2022.
Even if America transitions mostly to electric transportation over the next few decades, public EV chargers may never be as common as gas stations. Owners of gas-powered cars need to refuel mid-trip. EV owners can refuel at home and at work.
One report found that, in a mature EV charging system capable of supporting tens of millions of EVs, 96% of chargers would not be visible to the public.
