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April 30, 2026
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REPORT: Maryland making progress on spending federal EV charging dollars, but still has a long way to go
Amid high gas prices and a tight state budget, Maryland must do more to swiftly spend federal funding for EV charging to help drivers go electric
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland made meaningful progress on rolling out federal EV charging dollars in 2025, but the vast majority of funding remains unspent, according to a new Sierra Club report out today.
“In a year where Maryland had to close a $1.5 billion budget shortfall, the state needs to make sure it doesn’t risk leaving federal dollars for EV charging on the table,” said Lindsey Mendelson Iankova, Senior Transportation Campaign Representative at the Maryland Sierra Club. “The federal government continues to try to claw back and withhold this money. The best way for Maryland to protect it is to spend it.”
In February 2025, the Trump administration illegally froze the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. Sierra Club, Maryland, and other states and nonprofit partners challenged that action in federal court and successfully lifted the freeze. NEVI funds were unavailable to Maryland for nearly five months in 2025 and only fully secured after a final court order in January 2026. Despite these months-long obstructions, 2025 was still the most productive year in the program’s four-year history.
States have to jump through a lot of hoops to implement and spend federal funds for EV charging — including developing statewide plans for NEVI, selecting projects, “obligating” funding (which legally binds the federal government to reimburse their spending), and moving ahead with permitting, design, and construction. By the end of 2025, Maryland had:
- Opened 3 NEVI charging stations to the public.
- Obligated 25% ($15.6M) out of its $63M of available federal dollars for EV charging stations along highways through the NEVI Program.
- Obligated 0% ($0M) and spent 0% ($0M) out of its $33M of available federal dollars for EV charging stations along corridors through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Program.
- Obligated 10% ($1M) and spent 1% ($0.20M) out of its $15M of available federal dollars for EV charging stations in communities through the CFI program.
- Obligated 0% ($0M) and spent 0% ($0M) out of its $19M of available federal dollars for public EV truck and bus charging stations through the CFI program.
- Obligated 100% ($146M) and spent 0.53% ($0.77M) out of its $146M of available federal dollars for EV charging infrastructure at ports through the Clean Ports Program.
Motor vehicles are the largest contributor of climate pollution in Maryland and a leading source of pollution that harms public health. By building EV charging stations, the state can help improve air quality and make clean, cost-effective transportation accessible for families across the state.
To speed up the rollout of federal EV charging funds, the report recommends Maryland and other 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). As of today, Maryland has roughly 1,673 charging stations with 5,460 charging ports open to the public, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
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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.