Funds Will Be Utilized For Development and Construction of Two New Heavy-Duty Charging Sites in New Mexico
TeraWatt Infrastructure, a company powering electrified fleets with the most reliable network of charging solutions, jointly announced that its I-10 electric corridor project application in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has been selected to receive $63.8 million in federal grant funding via the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant program. The NMDOT grant is one of the largest grant awards announced in the first round of CFI funding.
TeraWatt announced plans to build heavy-duty shared charging infrastructure along the I-10 corridor in 2022, cementing the company’s commitment to enabling and accelerating the electrification of fleets. TeraWatt was competitively selected by NMDOT last year to design, build, operate, and own the two charging centers.
“We are grateful for our strong partnership with the New Mexico Department of Transportation who selected TeraWatt as its project partner to deliver this key infrastructure project. Together, we are leveraging combined public-private expertise and federal funding to accelerate the development of heavy-duty charging infrastructure along the I-10 corridor,” said Neha Palmer, TeraWatt’s CEO and Co-Founder. “This grant award is one of many actions taken by the Biden Administration to accelerate the transition to zero-emission transportation and will enable an accelerated buildout of the I-10 corridor to meet growing demand for charging.”
TeraWatt’s I-10 electric corridor project is one of the nation’s first networks of high-powered charging centers for heavy-duty trucks and the first in the southwest, running from the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles, California to El Paso, Texas. As the selected contractor for the project, TeraWatt will construct two EV charging centers for medium and heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles in Lordsburg and Vado, New Mexico. Each site will have nine pull-through stalls and will serve as crucial links within TeraWatt’s I-10 corridor project. Once completed, the sites will be able to provide about 300 truck charges per day.
“The Federal Highway Administration is pleased to announce this grant in New Mexico that will bring EV charging to a critical freight corridor along Interstate 10, which is important for the movement of people and goods throughout the southwest and is also part of our national strategy for freight electrification,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “These investments through the CFI Program will grow our national EV charging network, support President Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050 and promote opportunity for all Americans to enjoy the benefits of EV charging.”
Funds will be made available through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program, a new program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). While TeraWatt’s award is specific to the New Mexico region, the FHWA announced awards to a total of 47 projects nationwide, with approximately $623 million awarded in total grant funding to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles across light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle segments.
“I’m delighted to join in the announcement of $68 million in new electric vehicle charging infrastructure for New Mexico. In particular, the electrification of I-10 with 2 heavy- and medium-weight vehicle stations will transform travel on this New Mexico highway,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “With local matches, these grants will result in over $84 million of infrastructure along I-10 and in the communities of Lordsburg and Vado as well as smaller investments in Santa Fe County and the Town of Taos. Thank you to President Biden for making this game-changing work possible.”
“NMDOT is ecstatic to receive this funding and for this first in the southwest infrastructure to debut in New Mexico,” said NMDOT Cabinet Secretary Ricky Serna. He continued, “This partnership and these charging centers are some of the first purpose-built charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the nation and will truly revolutionize transportation and electric vehicle connectivity routes not only in New Mexico, but for the entire southwest region of the Country. Furthermore, the funding for projects in Northern New Mexico demonstrates our state’s continued commitment to connectivity.”
