Our Thin Ice series this week is looking at the possible impacts of shorter and warmer winters in Wisconsin.
In hopes of slowing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporters of electric vehicles hope more people switch away from gasoline-fueled cars. But a new Trump administration freeze on funding for EV charging units has cast doubt on the change to cleaner transportation.
California, Florida and a few other bigger states are seeing large new numbers of electric vehicles. But the number of EVs in Wisconsin is smaller—perhaps about 27,000. Add in another roughly 13,000 plug-in hybrid gas-electric vehicles, which can only go shorter distances on an electric charge.
That’s a significant increase in recent years, but still less than one percent of vehicles here.
One of the new EV drivers is Jeff Smith, a Democratic state senator from Eau Claire County. He says he bought a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox two months ago, as part of a long curiosity about EVs.
“I’m thinking, probably more than a decade—waiting for that time when you get improved range and the ability to charge. All of that makes a difference. I thought now is the time for me, especially since last year, we were able to get a nice subsidy from the federal government to purchase this vehicle. It really helped," Smith says.
That federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for a new EV still exists, but the Trump administration and some Republicans in Congress are talking about doing away with it.
That isn’t the only Trump move making waves in the world of EVs.
While interviewing Sen. Smith in his Equinox last week, the vehicle was charging. At the end of our talk, Smith stepped outside the car to unplug the connector cable from his vehicle’s charging port and hang it back up on a charging unit about the size of a tall gas pump.
“Not much to it," Smith said.
Smith was at a Kwik Trip convenience store near State Highway 29 and U.S. Highway 53 in Chippewa Falls. The business has one of just four fast-charging stations built in Wisconsin with help from some of the first round of federal money allocated to the state under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program—approved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law President Joe Biden signed four years ago. The other three NEVI-backed fast chargers already open are at Kwik Trips in West Salem, Ashland and Menomonie.
Following the bipartisan passage of state legislation last year, the Wisconsin Transportation Department authorized $23 million of that federal money to help build 53 charging projects along major roads.
But this month, the Trump administration froze funding nationally for NEVI, throwing into question the total of $78 million Wisconsin is slated to receive over five years.
Wisconsin Republican House members are defending the freeze. Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville says it’s a way to get federal spending under control.
“We had four years of reckless spending under the Biden administration, and this is a chance to get our priorities right. In particular, an area where the private sector should be investing in this rather than using your taxpayer dollars. So, I think it’s a great move," Steil tells WUWM.
Two other GOP House members also replied to our request for comment. Rep. Tom Tiffany of northern Wisconsin writes, “When a business opens a gas station, it pays for its own fuel pumps. The same should apply to EV chargers.” Western Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden writes that NEVI was part of “President Biden’s rogue climate initiative” and that his “constituents are more concerned with bringing down the former president’s inflated gas and diesel prices.”
Kwik Trip declined an interview but sent along images of customer praise for the new EV chargers and encouraged EV drivers to download a company app for up-to-date charger availability.
We asked Steil what he’d tell Kwik Trip, a major Wisconsin corporation, about the federal funding freeze.
“Well, I hope they’re able to operate without your tax dollars being used as a subsidy. I have no problem with electric cars or electric vehicle charging stations. The same way I don’t have a problem with an internal combustion engine or a gas station," Steil replied.
Gov. Tony Evers' administration says the federal move may pull back $7 million for 15 Wisconsin charging stations already approved, including one in Greenfield.
Federal officials say they’ll publish a new draft plan for NEVI funding this spring.
But new EV driver, state Sen. Smith, says for now, he’s very disappointed. He says Republicans in Washington “are taking a very short-sighted, and, I think, dangerous view of the future.”
