The U.S. Department of Transportation announced in a February 6 memo that it would rescind federal funding for state electric vehicle infrastructure projects. Many EV infrastructure projects in Michigan are now in limbo.
The Federal Highway Administration previously issued grants to states through programs such as the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. The NEVI Formula Program allows states to use the funds to strategically develop EV charging infrastructure and establish a charging network.
Michigan was expected to receive approximately $110 million from the NEVI Formula Program through fiscal year 2026. The first round of funding distributed $38 million to infrastructure projects. Until Thursday, Michigan had been accepting requests for the second round of funding, which would allocate $37 million.
Industry experts are saying the federal funding freeze has thrown uncertainty onto states’ plans for infrastructure projects already in motion. In most states, the majority of funding for EV infrastructure projects is allocated from the federal government, according to Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive.
“It's caused a lot of uncertainty and confusion because I think the challenges for the NEVI program, a lot of that funding has been allocated and in play,” Valdez Streaty told Michigan Public. “I think states are really trying to figure out what that means if they have projects already with contracts, can they still proceed.”
Jocelyn Garza, Michigan Department of Transportation’s director of communications, wrote in an email that Michigan is halting submissions for the NEVI Formula Program’s next funding round.
“Based on guidance from the USDOT, Michigan is pausing second round submissions of the NEVI program effectively immediately,” Garza wrote. “We are working with our federal advisors to determine what impacts may exist for the funding obligated through the first round of NEVI submissions.”
Garza also wrote that some projects have already been authorized for NEVI Formula Program funding, but there is still much uncertainty regarding future ones.
“We have 30+ contracts in various stages of agreement from that first round of NEVI authorization, but we don’t yet know the impacts of that funding, or how long the second round submissions will be impacted,” Garza wrote.
Funding that has been allocated to contracted projects cannot easily be rescinded, according to Valdez Streaty. Legal challenges are expected for projects that have already been allocated funding but are threatened by the loss of federal dollars.
Michigan currently has 1,934 publicly accessible charging stations. Governor Gretchen Whitmer set a 2022 goal of having 100,000 EV chargers in the Great Lakes state by 2030.
The recent memo states that the change is due to the turnover in the Department of Transportation's leadership. The reversal of EV infrastructure policy follows multiple other Trump administration orders that reversed Biden administration climate policies. Electric vehicles have been a target of recent Trump administration policies.
“The new leadership of the Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI Formula Program,” Emily Biondi, Federal Highway Administration associate administrator for planning, environment, and realty, wrote in the memo. “Accordingly, the current NEVI Formula Program Guidance dated June 11, 2024, and all prior versions of this guidance are rescinded.”
Established EV infrastructure is an important consideration for consumers interested in buying an EV. Barriers to infrastructure are expected to decrease consumer demand for the vehicles.
“We’ve done an EV adoption study and, every time, price is definitely one of the top barriers, but infrastructure (is too),” Valdez Streaty said. “And so I think even if somebody is able to charge at home and they’re going to buy an EV, they still want to have that comfort of knowing that if they’re on a long road trip or long commute, they have access to infrastructure and that it’s accessible, reliable, easy to pay, and a good experience.”
While the halt in federal funding may cause some delays in widespread EV infrastructure, Valdez Streaty said she believes more state collaboration in Michigan will allow for EV infrastructure growth in the future.
“I think that the road to electrification is still moving forward, but changes in regulatory or funding will just shift the timeline,” Valdez Streaty told Michigan Public. “I think it's just going to be rough waters as we kind of navigate this messy middle of getting to electrification.”
