Vermont transportation officials: EV charging network advancing but $20M in NEVI funds at risk

Vermont transportation officials told the House Committee on Environment & Energy on Feb. 18 that the state has made early progress building high-speed electric vehicle charging along highway corridors but faces a setback after federal reviewers paused approvals for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

Andrea Wright, environmental policy manager at the Agency of Transportation (VTrans), said the state has built one NEVI-compliant fast-charging site in Bradford and has made awards or selections for additional locations. "The biggest obstacle to the EV transition is the cost of the vehicles. But a close second is EV charging and the confidence that people have that EV charging will be available, accessible, reliable, and that they can use it where they need it," Wright said.

The context: Vermont’s 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act and the Climate Action Plan direct large greenhouse-gas reductions from the transportation sector, and the NEVI funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is designated to help build DC fast charging along federally recognized alternative-fuel corridors. VTrans officials described targets recently…