The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) dedicated a new electric vehicle fast charging station at Kapalua Airport on Wednesday, May 13.

The $3.2 million charging station at the Kapalua Airport parking lot is now open for public use and has four 150-kilowatt direct current chargers. Two chargers have a Combined Charging System (CCS) and North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors and the other two chargers have CCS and CHArge de MOve or (CHAdeMO) connectors.

EV Adoption and Expansion

The chargers are operating 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, according to HDOT.

The installation was made possible through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which 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.

“We are keeping the momentum going to achieve Hawai‘i’s clean energy goals as we are on our way in developing 11 NEVI charging stations across the state. Working with our federal, state and private-sector partners we are building the infrastructure needed to create a more sustainable and resilient transportation future,” said HDOT Director Ed Sniffen. “Hawai‘i has seen steady growth in electric vehicle adoption and the expansion of our EV charging network is critical to supporting that growth.”

EVs and the Future of Island Charging

The West Maui station at the Kapalua Airport parking lot is the third public EV charging station HDOT has installed in the state as part of the federal NEVI program. The first NEVI station in Hawaiʻi opened at the Kahului Park and Ride in February 2024. The second station at the Aloha Tower Marketplace on O‘ahu opened in November 2024. A fourth station on Kaua‘i is scheduled to open in December 2026 at the Princeville Library parking lot.

To date, there have been 21,614 charge sessions (individual use of the chargers) at the Kahului Park and Ride and 31,486 charging sessions at the Aloha Tower station, for a total of 53,100 charge sessions yielding nearly 1.9 million kWh.

This translates to a reduction of around 1.2 million kilograms of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, which is equivalent to saving an estimated 34,144 trees.

HDOT plans to build 11 NEVI charging stations statewide.