When it comes to government incentives for electric vehicle charging stations, the one thing on a lot of people’s minds is whether some projects will see the light of day, given the changes in the political climate.

As you might know, a key element of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021 focused on the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country — to the tune of $7.5 billion for a national charging network.

At the time, the federal government set up two significant grant programs to help achieve that end. The first is the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula program, which has allocated $5 billion to states over a five-year period between 2022 and 2026. For the remaining $2.5 billion, there’s the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program, which offers the funds in the form of competitive grants.

In January, the Trump Administration came into office and, barely a month later, froze the NEVI program, leaving many EV infrastructure development projects in limbo. Some states promptly sued the administration, and in June a federal judge ordered, through a preliminary injunction, that the administration had to release the funds to the plaintiff states. The money had already been appropriated by Congress, and the judge argued that it was unconstitutional for the executive branch to withhold those funds.

On Aug. 11, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released updated interim final NEVI guidance designed to replace all prior NEVI guidance and allow states the opportunity to resubmit plans for the remaining funding that had been frozen since February.
 The new NEVI guidance retained some elements from the previous administration’s guidance — such as the provision that requires grant recipients to install four charging ports with 150kW capacity each — but there are a number of notable changes. One significant update was that states are no longer required to have a charging station every 50 miles.

However, the Electrification Coalition, a non-partisan nonprofit organization that promotes EV use and infrastructure, recommends that states still consider the 50-mile spacing benchmark as a planning tool. “Maintaining approximately 50-mile intervals can ensure broader geographic coverage, especially in rural or underserved areas where private investment may be less economically viable,” the Coalition said.

Another key change is that the new DOT guidance eliminates requirements for states to address consumer protections, emergency evacuation plans, and environmental site considerations. Trump’s DOT, under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, also removed previous, Biden-era language that plans should be developed and updated through engagement with rural, underserved, and disadvantaged communities. The original language was designed to ensure that diverse viewpoints were considered throughout the approval process. The rescinded language also included those relating to “how the implementation will promote strong labor, safety, training, and installation standards, as well as opportunities for the participation of small businesses, including minority-owned and woman-owned small businesses,” the release states.

In his remarks on the reinstatement of funds to the new NEVI guidelines, Secretary Duffy said, “While I don’t agree with subsidizing green energy, we will respect Congress’ will and make sure this program uses federal resources efficiently.”

So, on-balance, proponents of EV technology likely would consider the un-freezing of funds a win, albeit one with a certain degree of political spin and rhetoric to ensure that the current administration’s fingerprints are on it.