New Mexico receives nearly $68 million in federal funding for EV charging – NM Political Report

New Mexico will receive nearly $68 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure from the federal government from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law . This money comes through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program. The $68 million is part of a $623 million nationwide investment in electric vehicle infrastructure and comes as President Joe Biden’s […]

New Mexico will receive nearly $68 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure from the federal government from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law . This money comes through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.

The $68 million is part of a $623 million nationwide investment in electric vehicle infrastructure and comes as President Joe Biden’s administration works toward a goal of making at least 500,000 electric vehicle chargers publicly available by 2030.

The $623 million investment will fund 47 projects in 22 states as well as Puerto Rico and will result in the creation of about 7,500 charging ports for electric vehicles. 

“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution—securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release announcing the funding. “This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers.” 

The largest portion—$63.8  million—will go to building two TeraWatt charging stations for commercial electric trucks along Interstate 10 in Hidalgo and Doña Ana counties. TeraWatt Infrastructure is a company based in California that is working to build the nation’s first network of high-powered charging centers for commercial electric trucks. This corridor will be along I-10 stretching from southern California to the border region in El Paso, Texas.

The two stations in New Mexico will each feature nine pull-through stalls. Each of those will be equipped with both a 350 kilowatt and 1 megawatt direct current fast charger. These sites will be located near Lordsburg and Vado.

“This $63 million investment to Lordsburg and Vado is the largest award in the United States and will go a long way in not just supporting cleaner trucks, but boosting economic development in our rural communities,” U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat, said in a press release. “These two medium- and heavy-duty commercial truck charging stations along Interstate-10, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are a big deal. The construction of these new charging centers will provide critical resting places along the I-10 corridor, which facilitates the transportation of millions of dollars in goods from the ports of Los Angeles through New Mexico and to the rest of the country.” 

Additionally, Santa Fe County will receive $3.3 million in funding to build a network of 33 fast chargers and level 2 charging stations at 13 sites, including areas in underserved communities near county transportation hubs as well as in places where there is multi-family affordable housing.

Finally, the Town of Taos received $500,000 to install six publicly available fast EV chargers in parking lots at three community buildings, including the Taos Visitor Center.

“I am thrilled that New Mexico is receiving such a substantial share of the investment from the first round of competitive EV charging grants in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, the founder and co-chair of the Electrification Caucus and a Democrat representing New Mexico, said in a press release. “From passenger sedans to school buses and delivery trucks, today’s EVs are market ready right now. If we want to meet our ambitious climate goals and deploy these clean and zero-emission vehicles at scale, we need to build much more EV charging infrastructure in our communities and along our major highways. This grant is a crucial step to get that done.” 

In other EV charging news, earlier this week the Public Service Company of New Mexico and Bernalillo County Assessor Damian Lara announced an agreement that will increase availability of charging stations. Under that agreement, the utility will install charging stations on the eighth floor of the PNM parking structure in downtown Albuquerque near Alvarado Square.

“We want to cut down our carbon footprint in our community with an eventual changeover to a fully electric fleet,” Lara said in a statement. “This is the next step in this effort.”