Wisconsin awards $25M in NEVI grants to 42 fast-charging sites

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced on September 8, 2026 that 42 locations will receive grants to build fast electric vehicle charging stations, supported by $25 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, per the governor's release. The 42 federal shares listed in the release sum to $25,007,751, from $396,800 for a Woodman's in Madison to $930,849 for Walker's Point Plaza in Milwaukee. The sites were selected through the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (WEVI) Connecting Corridors Program and sit on U.S. and state highway corridors "that were not previously considered for WEVI funding," the release says.

WisDOT's award list names the applicants: Universal EV LLC on 25 of the 42 sites, Kwik Trip on eight, GreenFleet on four, and one each for ChargeSmart EV, Sleepy Hollow Chevrolet/Buick/GMC, Soukup Properties LLC, Tesla, Inc. at the Madison Woodman's, and Walker's Point Plaza LLC. The list also carries each grantee's match; WisDOT's May 26, 2026 call for proposals said the program covers up to 80% of eligible costs with a minimum 20% non-federal match.

NEVI money goes first to chargers along designated alternative fuel corridors, and a state may fund chargers on any public road only once it determines, and FHWA certifies, that its corridors are fully built out, per the Federal Highway Administration's interim final guidance of August 11, 2025. FHWA certified Wisconsin's corridors as fully built out on February 11, 2026, according to WisDOT's Connecting Corridors request for proposals. The governor's office says Wisconsin "is also the first to support NEVI projects on Tribal lands," and counts approximately $62 million awarded across 120 projects including this round, with 25 stations operating, up from the 21 counted in the May 26 release. Minnesota announced its own round on September 1, up to $41.2 million for Greater Minnesota.

The program's authorization is on a clock. FHWA's guidance describes NEVI as $5 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026, and the release says the infrastructure law "is set to expire at the end of September"; on September 4, Evers wrote to Wisconsin's congressional delegation asking for a surface transportation reauthorization that keeps NEVI before the law expires on September 30.