1 week Ago
Millions of dollars previously designated for South Carolina to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations were put in question last week with the highly stylized stroke of a pen. One of the dozens of executive orders President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office Monday paused the disbursement of federal funds the previous Biden administration had earmarked for the chargers under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program , better known as NEVI. The initiative was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021.
In South Carolina, that pause amounts to nearly $70 million that's now in limbo. And it's causing a lot of confusion. Tesla vehicles charge at a charging station near the former Mellow Mushroom in North Charleston.
The S.C. Department of Transportation , the state's NEVI administrator, "is awaiting further direction from the Federal Highway Administration and will use their guidance to determine how to move forward," according to spokeswoman Kelly Moore .
Trump's order requires the FHA and other U.S. agencies to "review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts or any other financial disbursements" for EV chargers to make sure they align with the new president's policies.
They have 90 days to comply with the order. It's not just the NEVI program. Funding under the federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program has also been put at risk.
On Jan. 10, the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments was awarded a $6.6 million grant to help expand EV-charging infrastructure in the region's rural areas.
Less than two weeks later, the money was frozen. "We have not received any communication from the Federal Highway Administration as of yet, regarding status," COG spokesman Matthew Spath said. Together, those two programs allocate $7.
5 billion for charging infrastructure nationwide. In the meantime, it's not clear whether Trump's motive is to simply delay disbursements or cancel them entirely — and claw back any money that might have already been sent to the states. “I think he’s just pausing it right now.
That doesn’t mean the payments aren’t going to be made," Sen. Mike Crapo , R-Idaho, told Politico . Sen.
Jeff Merkley , D-Oregon, said Trump is preparing to usurp Congress' spending powers and that he needs "to abide by the law." Trump has condemned the Biden administration's push to expand the use of electric vehicles, calling it the "green new scam," and has vowed to undo legislation that provides subsidies for EV purchases and infrastructure development. South Carolina has been working on a NEVI plan to build out a network of fast-charging stations along federal highways since 2022, when Gov.
Henry McMaster — a staunch Trump ally — signed an order coordinating the state's EV infrastructure rollout. Washington has earmarked federal money for chargers over the past four years — $10.36 million the first year and $14.
9 million in succeeding years. Another $14.9 million is scheduled to be set aside next year.
But to spend it, the state must find private businesses willing to share in the costs. The federal dollars could be used to pay for 80 percent of the charging infrastructure while businesses would be required to cover the other 20 percent. The state's DOT hasn't awarded any contracts to date.
Last month, it asked businesses for feedback on a draft document that could serve as the template for a future request for proposals. That feedback is due by Jan. 31, with an official request for businesses to submit offers to participate in the NEVI program to be issued at an undetermined future date.
Trump's order puts all of that in question. A couple of things could happen, according to Ryan McKinnon with Charge Ahead Partnership , a coalition of gas stations, retailers and other businesses interested in expanding EV-charging infrastructure. Trump could try to cancel any future disbursements — like NEVI funding that's supposed to roll out in fiscal 2026 — while leaving the money that's already been announced alone.
Or he could cancel future disbursements and try to claw back what's already been appropriated. Either scenario could be difficult because Congress , not the president, is in charge of spending the nation's money and the EV appropriations have already been codified by law. But the executive order suggests Trump wants the funding to end by any means possible.
It puts South Carolina in an unusual situation. The state has spent billions of dollars in incentives to lure EV and battery manufacturers and McMaster has made the industry a key part of his economic development plan . But the state lags in the very infrastructure needed to help those manufacturers succeed.
South Carolina is No. 5 out of 7 southeastern states in terms of EV-charging station deployment with 504 fast-charging ports and 924 slower-charging Level II ports available publicly, according to a report by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy . Nationally, the Palmetto State ranks No.
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