Statement: First EV chargers from federal program come online in Texas
Charging ports in the Panhandle and near Mexico and Oklahoma borders are the first to open in Texas under federal NEVI program
AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal transportation officials unveiled a new electric vehicle charging station in the Texas Panhandle today, the first of three new charging stations opening this month using funds from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program.
The NEVI program was created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program was allocated $5 billion nationally (and $408 million to Texas)to fund the deployment of an interconnected nationwide EV charging network that will ensure broader access and reliability of charging, especially along highway corridors and in rural areas.
The three new stations, in Happy (in the Panhandle), Cotulla (in far south Texas) and Gainesville (on I-35, just south of the Red River) are the first of 56 planned stations that will ensure that DC fast chargers are available at least every 70 miles across Texas’ more than 3,400 miles of interstate highways. The new chargers will complement 45 existing charging sites installed by the private sector that meet the Federal Highway Administration’s standards and 34 planned sites that will be built using funds from the Volkswagen Clean Air Act settlement.
Over the next seven years an additional 190 chargers with more than 1014 charging connections will be built to ensure that every county in Texas also has access to fast charging. A to-be-determined number of chargers will also be built in major urban areas to supplement existing charging infrastructure.
There are already more than 331,000 EVs registered in Texas and ERCOT expects that number to climb to one million by 2028. Almost one-third of Texans say they are very or somewhat likely to buy or lease an electric vehicle, according to a poll last year by the University of Houston. Insufficient charging infrastructure was cited as the top reason Texans are wary of buying an EV.
In response to the new charging stations, Environment Texas Research and Policy Center Executive Director Luke Metzger issued the following statement:
“EV road trips are about to get a whole lot easier in Texas. Whether you want to drive up to see Palo Duro Canyon, down to Padre Island, or — for some reason — Oklahoma, you’ll now have more options for charging your car or truck.
“The rollout of the NEVI program across Texas is a critical step toward cleaner transportation. With thousands of charging stations in our cities, driving an EV around town is a piece of cake. But long distance travel can still be a challenge and require careful planning. Placing charging stations along every interstate and in every county in the state will give Texans greater confidence that, if they buy an EV, they’ll always be able to get where they want to go. That’ll let millions more Texans experience the joy of driving a high-performance electric vehicle while saving money on gas and helping the environment.”
###