Published February 2, 2026 at 1:20 PM EST

President Trump froze billions in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure early last year. Now, a federal court says that action was illegal.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation had received $109 million to install more EV chargers, especially along major roads. The program required the state to build a network of charging stations no more than 50 miles apart and capable of charging four EVs at a time.

But President Trump issued an executive order last February halting the program until the new administration could review it.

N.C. DOT had already awarded nine contracts, totaling $5.9 million in projects, but the funding freeze halted the second phase. In January, a federal court determined this action unlawful, calling it “capricious and unnecessary.”

“This is a great victory for clean energy while also overcoming an unnecessary roadblock to critical funding on the road to bringing the United States and our Southeast region into the 21st century,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the nonprofit Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

North Carolina had already received approval to resume the program last fall, according to NC DOT’s Heather Hildebrandt, who supervises the agency’s statewide initiatives.

The U.S. DOT released new guidance that gave states “greater flexibility,” Hildebrandt said, allowing N.C. DOT to focus on building chargers along evacuation routes, in rural areas and in areas with difficult terrain.

“Overall, across the entire state, we have about 200 stations that are spread across the state,” Hildebrandt said. “But we still have gaps.”

The court decision provides developers and states with greater certainty that they’ll be reimbursed as they move forward with these multi-million dollar infrastructure investments.

N.C. DOT will launch the next phase of its NEVI program in March, requesting proposals for 16 sites along the state’s alternative fuel corridors.