In January, the federal government announced the latest round of grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Passed into law in 2021, the BIL is a significant opportunity for New Mexico’s clean energy future. To date, it has already allocated over $8 billion in funding to states and municipalities nationwide for critical projects that include broadband, renewable energy, and road improvements.
As part of this funding commitment, New Mexico was awarded nearly $68 million to boost vehicle charging infrastructure across the state through the BIL’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program. This is part of a broader $623 million plan to electrify the nation’s road systems, with 47 projects in 22 states plus Puerto Rico. The result will be the creation of about 7,500 charging ports for electric vehicles in the near term, with the administration’s long-term goal of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.
New Mexico’s funding will be distributed among three locations, with the most significant investment going to Doña Ana and Hidalgo Counties along the I-10 corridor. These counties will receive $63 million to construct two TeraWatt Charging Centers for commercial electric trucks. TeraWatt Infrastructure is a company based in California working to build the nation’s first network of high-powered charging centers for commercial electric trucks. The charging network along I-10 will stretch from southern California to the border region in Texas. Santa Fe County will receive $3.3 million to build a network of 33 fast chargers and Level 2 charging stations. Taos County will get $500,000 to install six fast EV chargers.
This investment in infrastructure will help accelerate the adoption of electric cars and trucks, which is crucial to reducing the transportation sector’s pollution and climate emissions. Pollution from cars and trucks is the second-largest source of climate emissions in New Mexico, which disproportionately affects lower-income communities, children, elders, and people with a respiratory condition.
These investments, coupled with additional projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are a crucial step in making clean energy accessible to everyone across New Mexico. The funding will help spur the energy transition and save lives by reducing air pollution, particularly in communities that have been disproportionately impacted.