Trump administration stops illegal freezing $ 5b EV Charger After Loss of Court

Trump administration has finally issued new guidance that States can use to exceed $ 5 billion in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure after months withholding of money.

A coalition They competed to freeze funding in the National Electric Vehicles Program (NEVI), which was one of the many efforts of the administration to stop the funding provided by Congress at the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term. Judge ruled in June That these states were likely to succeed and issued an order against the freezing of administration expenses.

The Ministry of Transport (DOT), led by former MTV personality Sean Duffy, has criticized the states to take a long time to spend money. Since May, about 84% of $ 5 billion (authorized as part of bilateral infrastructure law) was still waiting to be obliged and only a few dozen chargers had been built.

Duffy and Dot also claimed that funding stopped only while a “review process” was carried out to ensure that the Nevi program was aligned with the administration’s priorities. A new press release issued on Monday reveals what this entails.

It is not surprising that the new guidance focuses on simplifying the review process for charging stations. This means that states should no longer consider consumer protection, emergency evacuation plans, environmental installation and other previously required steps before the start of construction. DOT has also abolished the requirements that a certain percentage of charging stations will be manufactured in rural, inadequate or disadvantaged communities.

DOT further removed the language from the guidance that requires funding proposals “to demonstrate how the application will promote intense work, training and installation”. And Dot struck the language it required for applicants to provide opportunities for small businesses and women to participate.

We always try to evolve and by providing some image of your perspective and feedback on TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Complete this survey to let us know how we are doing and to get the chance to win a prize in return!