Gov. Roy Cooper revealed this week that nine cities across North Carolina will receive a total of $5.92 million in government funds to build electric vehicle charging stations. Most of the counties selected, however, maintain the lowest electric vehicle registrations in the state. 

According to July data from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, six out of the nine counties receiving electric vehicle charger funding rank in the bottom half of electric vehicle registrations in North Carolina. 

With only 16 electric vehicles registered in Martin County, ranking 95th out of North Carolina’s 100 counties, the city of Williamston is set to receive approximately $645,000 for charging station installations. Towns within five other counties also ranking in the bottom half for EV registrations across North Carolina will receive a combined total of $2.6 million: Candor, Elizabeth City, Jonesville, Marion, and Warsaw.

Charlotte is the only city receiving funds that maintains electric vehicle registrations in the top 15 counties across North Carolina. The other top areas include Wake, Durham, Guilford and Buncombe Counties.

“This is classic government inefficiency,” commented Jon Sanders, Director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation. “The government will spend nearly $6 million of people’s money to support the government’s choice of transportation in typical oblivion to people’s lack of making that choice. Meanwhile, retailers in the private sector, driven by a desire to serve — rather than dictate — people’s needs, are voluntarily building gasoline pumps.”

Six businesses volunteered their sites to host the chargers, including Firehouse Subs, Love’s Travel Stop, and Pilot Travel Center. Below is a list of the nine cities receiving funds with county EV registration and ranking data:

  • Charlotte, Mecklenburg County – 14,114 registered EVs, 2nd most
  • Leland, Brunswick County – 826 registered EVs, 16th
  • New Bern, Craven County – 314 registered EVs, 30th
  • Marion, McDowell County – 133 registered EVs, 52nd
  • Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County – 89 registered EVs, 60th
  • Candor, Montgomery County –72 registered EVs, 64th
  • Jonesville, Yadkin County –72 registered EVs, 65th
  • Warsaw, Duplin County – 43 registered EVs, 76th
  • Williamston, Martin County – 16 registered EVs, 95th

The program, which in total will allocate $109 million to build out a network of electric vehicle chargers statewide over the next seven years, is targeting the largest coverage gaps along the state’s major corridors as federally required by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, passed under Biden’s Infrastructure bill. In total, the federal government will distribute $4.1 billion to all 50 states and territories through 2026 for the electric vehicle initiatives.

“This is an exciting start, but there’s so much more to come for clean transportation,” Cooper said in a press release. “By expanding the EV charging network, all North Carolinians will be able to choose transportation options that are more efficient, more affordable and better for our environment.”