As part of President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure package that passed last year, there was a plan to provide $5 billion to states for funding related to electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This week, the Biden Administration is beginning the rollout process.
The plan is to provide the monies over a five-year period. It comes as part of a larger plan that will allocate a total of $7.5 billion to build out US EV charging infrastructure. As CNBC reports, this is all part of the President's efforts to lead the fight against climate change by increasing EV adoption. The administration will reveal plans for the additional $2.5 billion later in the year.
While more and more people are now buying EVs, we have a long way to go before it makes a notable impact in curbing climate change. The transportation sector is one of the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, so this plan can't roll out soon enough. President Biden shared:
“It’s going to help ensure that America leads the world on electric vehicles."
“China has been leading the race up to now, but this is about to change. Because America is building convenient, reliable, equitable national public charging networks. So wherever you live, charging an electric vehicle will be quick and easy.”
As reported by CNBC, government officials noted at a recent press conference that the plan, which is the first of its kind, will "help states build a network of EV charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors on the national highway system."
In addition to increasing EV adoption and thus fighting against climate change, the new charging stations could save US EV drivers up to $1,000 per year on fuel costs.
Tritium, a company out of Australia that produces electric car chargers, will build a factory in Tennessee that's capable of manufacturing as many as 30,000 EV chargers per year going forward.
