Tennessee’s own EV charging program still running as Trump hits brakes on federal grants

by Cassandra Stephenson, Tennessee Lookout
February 8, 2025

Tennessee is pushing forward with a state-level grant program to build new electric vehicle chargers on the state’s interstates and major highways even as President Donald Trump’s administration blocks similar spending from federal coffers.

The state will solicit applications this spring for the second round of grant funding for the Fast Charge TN Network Grant Program. The $24 million program seeks to add about 65 new fast-charging locations to fill infrastructure gaps along Tennessee interstates and highways.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Valley Authority created the program in 2021 to fund a network of fast-charging stations at least every 50 miles along the state’s major arteries. The grant is funded by $7.5 million from Tennessee’s cut of the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust, electricity revenues from TVA and cost share from grant recipients. 

TDEC Senior Communications Advisor Jennifer Donnals said in an email that the Fast Charge TN program will not be affected by the Trump administration’s freeze of funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI). The $5 billion Biden-era program supports EV charger installation along “Alternative Fuel Corridors” across the nation.

The state and federal programs “have complementary goals,” Donnals said. Roadways covered by the NEVI program include all of Tennessee’s two-digit interstates and the majority of U.S. 64. 

EVs in Tennessee: Uncertainty abounds as Trump targets Biden-era electric vehicle funding

“The second round of Fast Charge TN is aimed at funding projects along prioritized corridors that NEVI funds cannot currently address with the goal of avoiding duplicative efforts and funding,” Donnals said.

Establishing a statewide fast-charging network “improves transportation efficiency, reduces vehicle emissions, promotes EV adoption, and strengthens the resiliency of our transportation network,” according to a TDEC announcement published on Feb. 3.

About 50 projects have been completed or are under development under the first round of Fast Charge TN funding, Donnals said. The second and final funding round will complete the program’s build out. 

Tennessee’s electric vehicle manufacturing industry has grown significantly in the past decade, and is anticipated to create thousands of jobs, particularly in rural communities. Funding changes under the Trump administration have stirred uncertainty about the industry’s future.

What about NEVI?

In the early days of his second term, Trump’s administration has taken steps to halt funding for Biden-era clean energy initiatives under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. 

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program allocated $88 million to Tennessee to fund the installation of electric vehicle chargers along major corridors over a 5-year period. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration issued a memo Thursday putting spending for NEVI on hold and rescinding the agency’s prior approval of states’ plans for the program.

“Therefore, effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new state plans are submitted and approved,” the memo states. 

While new spending is blocked, states may reimburse existing obligations “in order to not disrupt current financial commitments,” the memo states. New guidance is anticipated this spring.

Trump previously signaled a halt to NEVI spending in an executive order upon returning to office. 

The Tennessee Department of Transportation oversees the program in Tennessee, and awarded $21 million to 10 applicants in January 2024 to install 30 new charging locations. While TDOT has awarded federal funding, the contracting process is ongoing, TDOT Community Relations Director Beth Emmons wrote in an email in January. Emmons said she believes federal decisions on the fate of the program’s funding will “be known by the time we are ready to enter into any official contract.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.