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. The $5 billion Biden-era program supports EV charger installation along “alternative fuel corridors” across the nation.