The federal government’s efforts to pull back on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure could hurt tourism in rural Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. The news comes as President Donald Trump last month suspended funding for the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
Jeremiah Brockman, president of the Electric Vehicle Association’s Wisconsin chapter, said the dearth of charging stations in rural areas of Wisconsin is keeping prospective tourists with EVs from visiting and spending in the state.
He cited a survey by Harvard University researchers, which found that limited EV charging infrastructure is one of the primary factors preventing those from considering an EV purchase from actually buying one. If consumer confidence about the availability of charging stations increased, by 2030, EV sales could grow to represent up to 8% of the total car market.
Brockman said that EV owners do the bulk of their charging at home, so while a lack of charging stations in rural Wisconsin may not be preventing people who live there from owning EVs, it’s limiting people who might otherwise travel to those places.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a plan to electrify the transportation grid and maintains a database of charging stations, but the agency has not said how losing federal funding could affect state charging station plans.
