Highways

HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) announces construction of the second electric vehicle charging station in the state funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

Work will commence today, Monday, Aug. 26, on four 150-kilowatt, direct current chargers on Aloha Tower Drive fronting Pier 7 on Oʻahu. HDOT is partnering with Hawai‘i Pacific University in siting the charging stations in the Aloha Tower Marketplace complex.

Construction on the $2.5 million station is expected to be completed by November. During the work, parking fronting Pier 7 will be closed. Biki Station No. 109 will remain open.

The four 150 kW DC fast chargers have a Combined Charging System (CCS) and CHArge de MOve (CHAdeMO) ports.

The first NEVI-funded electric vehicle charging station opened on Feb. 28 at the Kahului Park & Ride on Maui. To date, there have been more than 5,000 charging sessions at the station, which translates to a reduction of nearly 30,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted into our atmosphere. The amount of greenhouse gasses reduced by this charging is equivalent to the amount that would be sequestered by 2,500 fully grown trees.

The charging rates at Aloha Tower with be the same as those on Maui. Charging rates will be $0.44 per kWh from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it will cost $0.57 per kWh from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. The rates are lower during the day as cost of electricity goes down when more solar power is generated.

“I congratulate Hawaiʻi on its second EV charging station in the state using federal investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “These stations will join our national EV charging network to bring more charging stations to communities all along America’s highways, create well-paid jobs in every community, and make EV charging as easy and convenient as filling up a gas tank.”

“Hawaiʻi continues to lead the way in building out convenient, reliable fast charging infrastructure to serve residents and visitors alike,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. “We congratulate HDOT’s rapid progress and ongoing collaboration with the Joint Office to help other island communities, like Puerto Rico, create a future where everyone can ride and drive electric.”

“Availability of charging infrastructure is a critical component to increasing adoption of electric vehicles, which in turn gets us closer to the state’s goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2045,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “As we break ground on the second NEVI station in Hawaiʻi, we look forward to seeing fewer gasoline-only vehicles on the road and continuing to build our partnerships in electrification of transportation.”

The NEVI program seeks to accelerate the adoption of EVs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help the U.S. lead global transportation electrification efforts and build out alternative fuel corridors through construction of a national network of electric vehicle chargers. See https://driveelectric.gov/

The NEVI program was authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending nationwide with $550 billion toward new investments and programs.

Photos from the Aug. 26 groundbreaking can be found at:

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240826-nevi-aloha-tower-scaled.jpg

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240826-nevi-aloha-tower-group-scaled.jpg

 

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