The Biden administration has announced its plan to build more than 500,000 EV charging stations all across the United States by 2030. This is five times more than the current EV charging stations in the country.
Biden's EV Charging Plan
The $5 billion plan will allow EV owners to find a convenient charging port within 50 miles of their location and the stations will be available across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and District of Columbia, according to Engadget.
Biden said that the goal of this plan is to make sure that the United States will lead the world in the use of electric vehicles. The plan will build on the Alternative Fuel Corridor created by 40 states along highways across the country.
The White House opened a new agency called the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. The plan will come from the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI Formula Program, which will distribute $2.5 billion in grants in the future.
In 2022 alone, the White House will distribute $615 million for its program, and states have until Aug.1 to submit their applications.
The money can only be used for electric vehicles, and it should not be used as alternative energy and hydrogen vehicles.
The states can partner up with private businesses to build EV charging stations, according to The Verge.
Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack said that the charging station aims to make sure that future EV buyers can charge their vehicles almost anywhere while they travel.
Pollack added that Americans need to know that they can buy an electric vehicle and find charging stations along interstates and highways.
The White House is also pushing for EV charging stations to be built in the United States. It touted Tritium that will produce up to 30,000 DC fast chargers yearly in Tennessee, creating up to 500 jobs.
The US government will direct 40% of its funding to rural areas in the country. The agency released its disbursement plan per state, and it shows that it plans to give the largest funding levels to the three most populous states: Texas, Florida, and California.
It is all part of a larger plan to reduce carbon emissions in the country, as the transportation sector is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas pollution.
The Biden administration wants half the cars sold in the United States to be electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids by 2030.
Also, Biden wants all US Federal Goverment vehicles to be electric vehicles.
EV Sales in the US
According to Reuters, the sales of hybrid vehicle sales in the United States increased 76% to 801,550 vehicles in 2021.
That is 5% of light vehicle sales in the country. Sales of EVs also increased 83% to 434,879 but represented a meager 3% of the market.
Toyota Motor Corp. posted record hybrid car sales for the United States market, helping the Japanese automaker overtake General Motors or GM as the top-selling automaker in the country.
Toyota increased the sales of its hybrids, fuel cells, and plug-ins by 73% to 583,697, with most of the sales coming from hybrids. GM had fewer sales, as it only sold 25,000 EVs because it recalled Bolt EVs because of issues with the battery.
In July 2021, the United States fell behind China and Europe in producing electric vehicles, and the U.S. clearly wants to change that.
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Written by Sophie Webster
