Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism

Hawaii State Energy Office
For Immediate Release: February 11, 2022

HONOLULU—The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy have announced the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program that will provide more than $17 million in Hawaii over the next five years to fund electric vehicle charging stations statewide.

“Hawaii has some of the most aggressive clean energy and carbon reduction goals in the nation,” said Hawaii Chief Energy Officer Scott Glenn. “We appreciate the federal government’s recognition that we need to move swiftly to build the infrastructure needed to support the adoption of clean transportation in Hawaii which will help us achieve our carbon net-negative goal as soon as practicable and no later than 2045.”

Nationally, the program enacted through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes available nearly $5 billion over five years help states create a network of electric vehicle charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors in Hawaii and nationwide.

“The Hawaii Department of Transportation and Hawaii State Energy Office have worked collaboratively for many years to achieve federally designated Alternative Fuel Corridors on all islands,” said Ed Sniffen, Hawaii Department of Transportation Deputy Director for Highways. “Just as our national partners are working together to make these funds available, HDOT and HSEO will be working together with our state and county partners to submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan which is required to access these funds.”

The total amount available to states in the first year beginning with fiscal year 2022 is $615 million of which Hawaii is slated to receive approximately $2.62 million per the government’s funding formula. A second, competitive grant program designed to further increase EV charging access in locations throughout the country, including in rural and underserved communities, will be announced later this year. For more information on the federal program and the newly formed U.S. Joint Office of Energy Transportation please visit driveelectric.gov.

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About the Hawaii State Energy Office
The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) is an attached agency of the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The HSEO’s mission is to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean transportation to help achieve a resilient, clean energy, decarbonized economy. Toward this end, the HSEO is developing policies and programs to achieve our energy and climate change goals while identifying strategies that create jobs, lower costs, and improve quality of life in Hawaii. For more information, visit energy.hawaii.gov.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Claudia Rapkoch
Public Affairs Officer
Hawaii State Energy Office
(808) 460-5998
energy.hawaii.gov

Shelly Kunishige
Communications Manager
Hawaii Department of Transportation
Phone: (808) 587-2161
Mobile: (808) 282-2690
hidot.hawaii.gov