The Biden administration’s $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program is a transformative investment that will accelerate our transition to a sustainable transportation future. This program can work, but most states have yet to implement it. An exception is Hawaii: Thanks to the effort of our Department of Transportation, the state is poised to deploy the first NEVI hub in the nation.
The state of Hawaii will receive more than $17 million in NEVI funds. Its NEVI plan calls for a charging hub on Kauai, Oahu and Maui and five hubs on Hawaii island. Each hub will include at least four 120-kilowatt fast chargers.
On the surface, the NEVI program seems simple enough: Install ADA-compliant charging stations with at least four fast chargers within a mile of the exit along every 50 miles of America’s major highways and ensure that 40% of benefits flow to disadvantaged communities.
The federal government will reimburse each state’s Department of Transportation for designing and deploying the charging hubs and the cost of maintenance, repair, and lease of hardware and software for the first five years.
It sounds like a great plan, but there’s a catch or two.
States must come up with a 20% funding match, a big amount to add to their budget. Every state applied for the grant in hopes they could find matching funds. This approach may work for some states, but others may find the debt causing major tension with taxpayers and credit ratings.
For instance, New York will receive about $175 million, but the cities along the highways need a $35 million match. Not too bad until you realize $210 million spread across 40 stations along 2,007 miles of highway equates to $5.25 million per hub.
It’s also doubtful that the funding will cover the infrastructure and the cost of bringing the needed electricity to support the chargers at each location. Each hub will require a 600-kilowatt constant load during peak usage times, and many electrical grids are ill-equipped to manage this.
Once installed, these EV charging hubs won’t maintain themselves for free. Small and completely inadequate locations may eventually be abandoned and become another eyesore once the 5-year funding ends and the real annual operating costs begin. Well-intentioned NEVI charging hubs may result in a massive waste of taxpayers’ dollars if there isn’t a plan to maintain and improve the infrastructure.
Hawaii is charging forward.
Hawaii’s leaders are proud and protective of the environment and determined to reach the state’s sustainability goals. They have embarked on a robust strategy to decarbonize their transportation sector and understand the cost of building and sustaining an effective EV charging infrastructure, particularly one that can be expanded to meet future demand.
Importantly, Hawaii has figured out how to deploy the NEVI program and is already on a path to the EV charging infrastructure we can be proud of in the long term. The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), led by Director Ed Sniffen, has partnered with Sustainability Partners, a public benefit company, to deploy its NEVI charging infrastructure. As a result, Hawaii has found its 20% funding match and has access to capital to cover the actual deployment costs.
HDOT is now working to install NEVI charging hubs with fully integrated on-site clean power preconfigured to expand as needed. It also has a solid plan to properly maintain its NEVI charging station hubs so that they will provide sustained benefits to its residents and visitors.
Mahalo, Hawaii, for leading the way.
Noel Morin is a climate-action advocate with organizations focused on climate action, sustainability and resilience; he is also vehicles and infrastructure lead for Sustainability Partners (sp-hawaii.com).
