Maui set for another fast EV charging station, part of 11 station build-out statewide

On Friday, the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation opened its second electric vehicle charging station in the state funded by the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. The $3.5 million station opened at 8 a.m. at Aloha Tower Marketplace on O‘ahu.

The news comes eight months after the first NEVI-funded $3 million electric vehicle charging facility opened on Maui, at Kahului Park and Ride. Maui will reportedly get another federally funded charging station at the Kapalua Airport, says the state Department of Transportation.

The funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, or NEVI, is authorized through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support transition to zero-emission vehicles by increasing availability of convenient, reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure.  

The new facility is located along Aloha Tower Drive fronting Pier 7. Like the one on Maui, the new O‘ahu station includes four, 150-kilowatt, direct current “fast” chargers but don’t yet have North American Charging Standard connectors. They do have Combined Charging System (CCS) and CHArge de MOve (CHAdeMO) connectors.

“North American Charging Standard connectors will be added in the future,” said state officials. “At this time, EVs utilizing NACS will need an adapter.”

The chargers are open 24-hours a day. Charging rates are $0.44 per kWh from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and $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.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) will implement an idle fee that aims to increase NEVI charger availability. Once an EV reaches 100% state of charge, there will be an idle fee of $0.50/minute for every additional minute that a vehicle remains connected to the NEVI charger. There will be a five-minute grace period before idle fees start incurring.

Payment and charger availability can be checked through the EV Connect App at evconnect.com/. QR codes will be displayed at the chargers for customers starting a charging session with the mobile app. Payment by credit card is also accepted at the charger. The station display will show the pricing policy as well as the idle fee.

The charging rates at the Aloha Tower Complex are the same as the NEVI-funded charging station at the Kahului Park & Ride on Maui.

Since the Maui EV charging station opened on Feb. 28, 2024, there have been more than 6,800 charging sessions at the Kahului station providing more than 209,350 kWh, which translates to a reduction of nearly 137,000 kilograms of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere, reports the state Department of Transportation.

“The amount of greenhouse gasses reduced by these charging sessions is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by 160 acres of US Forest in one year,” the state department said.

“Hawai‘i is showing what true leadership looks like by implementing a strong electric vehicle infrastructure program to help Hawai‘i residents support sustainable transportation and reach our climate goals,” said Federal Highway Administration Acting Administrator Kristin White.

“Congratulations to Hawai‘i for opening their second EV charging station funded by the NEVI program,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. “As we have seen in Maui, we know this station in O‘ahu will be well appreciated by EV users, expanding confidence in our national charging network and resulting in cleaner air across Hawai‘i.”

HDOT plans to build 11 NEVI charging stations statewide. The list of planned locations and status follows: