Faster but Not Fast Enough: States’ Rollout of Federal EV Charging Funds Has a Long Way to Go, Per Sierra Club Analysis

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Amid high gas prices and tight state budgets, laggards risk leaving money on the table that could help drivers go electric

WASHINGTON — States more than doubled their progress on implementing federal funding for the nation’s EV highway charging network in 2025, according to a new Sierra Club report out today. However, more than 96% of all available funds remain unspent.

In 2021 and 2022, Congress created and funded a set of complementary programs to build out EV charging infrastructure across the country, including the National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (NEVI) program, the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program, and the Clean Ports Program (CPP). Sierra Club’s report fills a growing gap in public reporting and oversight on these programs — highlighting where progress is being made, where it is lagging, and what actions states can take to accelerate delivery of essential infrastructure.

“At a time when both state and household budgets are stretched thin, governors can’t afford to leave this funding on the table,” said Katherine García, Director of the Clean Transportation For All Campaign at Sierra Club. “We all benefit when states spend their federal transportation funding to improve transportation infrastructure, create good jobs, and deliver climate progress.”

In February 2025, the Trump administration illegally froze the NEVI program. Sierra Club, its partners, and a coalition of twenty states and Washington, DC challenged that action in federal court and successfully lifted the freeze. NEVI funding began flowing again in June 2025 for certain state plaintiffs, was restored nationwide in August 2025, and was ultimately secured for all states by a January 2026 court order that protects the program from further disruption. Despite these months-long obstructions, 2025 was still the most productive year in the program’s four-year history.

“The Trump administration has done everything it can to stop states from accessing these funds as Congress intended, yet we’ve still seen progress accelerate,” said Josh Stebbins, Managing Attorney at Sierra Club, who authored the report. “To keep the momentum going, states, municipalities, and other grant recipients need to act urgently and efficiently to obligate and spend federal EV charging dollars and deliver charging stations to their residents. It would be a major unforced error for states to allow funding in these programs to expire or be clawed back.”

At the end of 2025, the top five states ranked by the number of NEVI stations they have opened were Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Texas, and Colorado.

“We’re seeing both red and blue states move rapidly to advance their federally-funded EV charging projects,” said Nate Reagle, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter Clean Energy Program Advocate. “The limiting factor on progress isn’t politics or experience — it’s ambition and willingness to deliver services to constituents, and we’re glad Pennsylvania is one of the states leading the way.”

To speed up the rollout of federal EV charging funds, the report recommends states use their attorneys general offices to address issues with access to funds, engage with utility regulators and public service commissions to stretch funding, set targets and timelines for rolling out funds, and maximize coordination between state agencies, project applicants, and electric utilities.

Beyond federally-funded projects, last year was also the biggest year on record for deployment of privately-funded EV charging stations. According to data released by Paren, more than 18,000 new fast-charging ports were installed nationwide in 2025 (a 30% year-over-year increase).

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.