Wawa, Buc-ee’s and Busy Bee have come together over the slow rollout by Florida and about a dozen other states of a federally funded electric-vehicle charging stations program.
Introduced three years ago, the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program allows chargers to be built by private entities, if the owners put up a 20 percent match.
But Florida is among states that have not issued requests for proposals on the charging program, according to a report by Route Fifty, a sister publication of The News Service of Florida. Both are part of the GovExec media company.
Wawa, Buc-ee’s and Busy Bee are part of a national organization known as the Charge Ahead Partnership, which seeks to expand the electric-vehicle charging network.
“Florida has countless businesses that would love to use NEVI funds to help build out the state’s EV charging infrastructure, the same way that businesses in other states are,” Charge Ahead Partnership Executive Director Jay Smith said in a June statement. “It’s unfortunate that the state has still not issued an application for funds, while states like Ohio are opening NEVI-funded chargers.”
The federal match program is seen as a way for businesses to compete with power companies in operating charging stations, according to the Route Fifty report.
Loren McDonald, CEO of EVAdoption, which provides data and forecasts on the electric-vehicle industry, said the delay is a concern for convenience stores that offer fuel pumps.
“In some cases, they haven’t prioritized it. In some states, they don’t have the expertise in charging,” McDonald said, according to the Route Fifty report. “In a few cases, it’s hard to tell if politics are involved or if they’re just moving slowly, trying to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.”
Florida has the second-most electric vehicles in the country, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has routinely criticized the Biden administration and the infrastructure law for imposing ideology on states.
Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said in an email to Route Fifty that the federal government updated its regulations governing the charging program in June.
“As this is a newly created program with many requirements, it is important that FDOT completes our due diligence to ensure we are effectively planning the proper use of taxpayer dollars, especially as we have already seen individual projects delivered under this program costing millions of dollars,” Williams wrote. “As custom department practice, FDOT takes a thoughtful and strategic approach to all programs and projects we develop, including researching best practices and exploring innovative opportunities.”
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Introduced three years ago, the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program allows chargers to be built by private entities, if the owners put up a 20 percent match.
But Florida is among states that have not issued requests for proposals on the charging program, according to a report by Route Fifty, a sister publication of The News Service of Florida. Both are part of the GovExec media company.
Wawa, Buc-ee’s and Busy Bee are part of a national organization known as the Charge Ahead Partnership, which seeks to expand the electric-vehicle charging network.
“Florida has countless businesses that would love to use NEVI funds to help build out the state’s EV charging infrastructure, the same way that businesses in other states are,” Charge Ahead Partnership Executive Director Jay Smith said in a June statement. “It’s unfortunate that the state has still not issued an application for funds, while states like Ohio are opening NEVI-funded chargers.”
The federal match program is seen as a way for businesses to compete with power companies in operating charging stations, according to the Route Fifty report.
Loren McDonald, CEO of EVAdoption, which provides data and forecasts on the electric-vehicle industry, said the delay is a concern for convenience stores that offer fuel pumps.
“In some cases, they haven’t prioritized it. In some states, they don’t have the expertise in charging,” McDonald said, according to the Route Fifty report. “In a few cases, it’s hard to tell if politics are involved or if they’re just moving slowly, trying to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.”
Florida has the second-most electric vehicles in the country, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has routinely criticized the Biden administration and the infrastructure law for imposing ideology on states.
Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said in an email to Route Fifty that the federal government updated its regulations governing the charging program in June.
“As this is a newly created program with many requirements, it is important that FDOT completes our due diligence to ensure we are effectively planning the proper use of taxpayer dollars, especially as we have already seen individual projects delivered under this program costing millions of dollars,” Williams wrote. “As custom department practice, FDOT takes a thoughtful and strategic approach to all programs and projects we develop, including researching best practices and exploring innovative opportunities.”
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