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VTrans outlines EV incentives, NEVI buildout and carbon-reduction strategy, says gaps remain to meet climate targets
Summary
Vermont’s Agency of Transportation briefed the House committee on its environmental policy and sustainability efforts, including $27 million in EV programs to date, a NEVI corridor plan, and a Carbon Reduction Strategy that models a remaining emissions gap without additional measures.
Vermont’s Agency of Transportation told the House Transportation Committee Thursday that the agency’s Environmental Policy and Sustainability team is leading efforts on electric-vehicle incentives and charging infrastructure, climate mitigation and resilience, and carbon-reduction planning — but that modeling shows a remaining gap between current programs and the state’s long-term emissions targets.
Andrea Wright, environmental policy manager at VTrans, and Patrick Murphy, state policy director, presented the program’s three-part focus: environmental stewardship, climate mitigation and climate resilience. Wright said the division’s state‑fiscal‑year‑2025 budget is approximately $8 million in state funds plus additional local and vendor match tied largely to EV charging infrastructure projects.
Wright summarized federal and state funding streams VTrans uses for EV charging and mitigation work: the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program (the presentation lists roughly $21 million in formula NEVI funds for Vermont), ARPA allocations and discretionary federal grant programs such as the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program; VTrans has also used Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for airport and other projects.
Wright told the committee that VTrans and partners have invested about $27 million in EV programs since the start of the incentive programs in 2019; the agency’s programs have helped incentivize roughly 6,000 vehicles, while Vermont has just under 17,000 registered electric vehicles overall. The agency said about two-thirds of incentives and three-quarters of the funding went to lower‑income Vermonters.
On NEVI, Wright said Vermont’s plan calls for 15 priority corridor locations and that the first NEVI‑compliant site — in Bradford — was completed in April. The agency said it is in the process of awarding contracts for a full buildout of the priority locations and anticipates construction on those sites could be completed this year, subject to final contracting and permitting.
Wright and Murphy reviewed the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), another IIJA formula program that will provide Vermont approximately $32 million over the program life. VTrans reported that it developed a baseline forecast and used a modeling “sketch tool” to estimate how different capital programs and policies affect greenhouse‑gas emissions. The modeling showed the capital program alone would reduce emissions only modestly and that additional measures are required to meet the targets outlined by the Global Warming Solutions Act (Act 153).
"We found that that capital program would decrease greenhouse gas emissions, but very, a very small amount," Wright said as she explained the modeling and stakeholder engagement used to prepare the Carbon Reduction Strategy.
The CRP plan proposes funding priorities that include bike‑and‑ped infrastructure, transit electrification and fleet conversion, mobility and transportation innovation grants, and community charging. VTrans said it allocated $4 million to bike‑ped infrastructure last year and $3 million to a Mobility and Transportation Innovation (MTI) grants program (with a portion flexed to transit electrification), and that remaining funds are being held for future rounds pending federal developments.
Committee members asked about program timing, contractor selection and pricing for NEVI chargers; agency staff said vendors had to meet minimum standards, report uptime metrics and propose rates in the solicitation process, and contracting requires vendor commitments for operation and maintenance. Wright also noted recent statutory work by the Vermont Climate Council and ongoing interagency coordination on resilience planning and federal-grant oversight.
Wright said VTrans and the treasurer’s office recently completed analysis called for by the legislature on the potential costs and benefits of joining a regional cap‑and‑invest program; a draft report will be shared with the Vermont Climate Council and the treasurer’s recommendation is expected to the legislature by Feb. 15.
The committee requested additional data on program allocations and a summary of historic expenditures; Wright and Murphy said they would provide a table and follow up with more granular reports next week.
