It’s been a month since the new Tesla fast charging site opened behind the AC hotel in Frisco.
The location is to help electric cars make longer trips into the mountains. In the first few weeks of operation, users are raving about Plugshare’s station, a crowdsourcing app for EV driver rates and review chargers.
Adjacent to Interstate 70, the site offers 12 powerful charging stalls in areas and breweries near grocery stores, allowing drivers to kill time during charging sessions . The built-in converter guarantees Tesla branded vehicles and allows almost all other EV models to connect to a bright white monolith.
The site is also Colorado’s first charging location funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, a $5 billion federal initiative to build chargers along highways across the country. Colorado will use funds to build around 60 similar charging sites over the next two years, according to a press release sent from Governor Jared Police’s office in early January after the opening of the Frisco Charging Plaza. I’m planning.
These plans are less certain after the Trump administration suddenly suspends its federal program.
In a memo sent Thursday, the Federal Highways Administration notified states that are not permitted to spend the money allocated through initiatives created by the Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act of 2021. Since his inauguration, President Trump has repeatedly chosen a charging program as part of the Green New Deal, a “Green New Deal,” which freezes funds for various climate initiatives.
The governor’s office issued a statement Friday denounced the orders for false attempts to limit the adoption of electric vehicles. Gov. Jared Police also compared the decision to the White House’s recent instructions to link highway funding to birth rates. He shows that the Trump administration “places their own agenda more than what Americans and the markets demand.
The order will be incurred as Colorado sets a pace for EV adoption nationwide. A recent report shows Colorado had an inch ahead of its long-standing California market share in the third quarter of 2024. Since then, the latest update from the Colorado Auto Dealers Association has found that battery-powered electric vehicles account for nearly 20% of new car sales. 2024. A similar report from a California car dealership found that there are the same numbers as those found at 22% in Golden State.
However, it is not clear whether the order will completely close Colorado’s efforts to build fast charging stations using federal funds. Through the NEVI program, the state has already awarded nearly $34 million in grants and has built 364 new fast charging ports across 61 sites throughout the state. The administration has also signed contracts with the grantees approved in August 2023 and April 2024. The statement said some of these projects are expected to begin construction in the spring.
However, the state announced its latest $17 million grant, partially funded by the federal program in December 2024. That funding is intended to cover the costs of 29 potential fast charging sites across the state. A spokesman for the Colorado Energy office did not immediately say whether any of these projects are currently in danger due to the new federal memo.
Colorado is providing state funding to build fast charging stations. In 2021, the state legislature approved new fees to fund EV chargers and other clean energy projects. That funding, combined with the federal NEVI program money, plans to fund Colorado’s current direct, fast charging plaza program and build a statewide fast charger. Grants will be awarded to private companies.
Travis Madsen, the Transport Program Director for the Clean Energy Advocacy Group Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, said additional state support would help quarantine the state from a complete loss of federal funds.
Madsen is pleased that Colorado has joined 22 other states suing the Trump administration to end the funding freeze.
“This is destructive,” Madsen said. “I’m disappointed that the administration is challenging the power of Congress’ wallets like this. I hope the courts do something about it.”
