Colorado marks $12 million EV milestone with new high speed chargers

Colorado leaders have completed a $12 million expansion of the state’s network of electric vehicle charging stations, adding rapid chargers at 33 sites and closing in on California as the nation’s EV leader.

But the momentum behind EV adoption in the West — 25% of new vehicles sold in Colorado during the third quarter this past year were fully electric EVs or plug-in hybrids — may face hurdles if President-elect Donald Trump’s administration jacks up tariffs.

Gov. Jared Polis said Monday he’ll oppose any increase in the tariffs that threaten his goal of making environmentally sustainable transportation affordable for workers.

“I have major concerns with regard to tariffs on electric vehicles as well as clean energy generation,” Polis said, citing his opposition to President Joe Biden’s tariffs on solar panels made in China.

“That is raising the cost of energy,” he said in an interview at a rapid-charge station behind a Super Target store in suburban Wheat Ridge.

EVs often are made with parts from China, Mexico, and other countries and would cost too much for U.S. workers if Trump officials raise tariffs higher, Polis said. “There’s no EV that would be exempt from costing more. It would just make life more expensive for Americans.”

The charging stations are located along major transportation routes around Colorado. Each station contains a bank of portals where drivers can inject electricity for a cost that typically ranges from $7.65 to $12.24 per 100 miles of travel.

Colorado’s $12 million EV Fast-Charging Corridors program, launched in 2018 and completed this month, builds on state-backed installation over the past decade of more than 5,500 EV chargers, including 1,100 fast-chargers that fully juice batteries in 30 minutes and 4,400 slower ports. They’re concentrated at grocery stores, work sites, cafes, and highways around the state.

Drivers on 80% of the highways in Colorado now can reach a quick charging portal within 30 miles, said Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. “We’re getting very close to accomplishing our goal of creating a Colorado where anyone can drive anyplace in the state they want, regardless of what type of vehicle they have,” Lew said.

Colorado Energy Office director Will Toor said the state will install another 400 fast-charge portals next year. Despite the vast distances in the western United States, drivers in Colorado, Washington, California, and Oregon increasingly are going electric, Toor said.

“The West is a hotbed of EV adoption,” he said. “We are seeing momentum continuing to build in Colorado. We are concerned about where national policy will head.”

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