The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out a plan this week to provide nearly $5 billion over five years to states to help in developing a national electric vehicle charging network, as per Electrek. The massive investment is part of the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program established by Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The funding is part of the Biden administration's broader agenda to advance the clean energy transition to combat human-caused climate change. The current administration has long touted electric vehicles as a more affordable option for American consumers than gasoline-powered vehicles, pledging that half the cars sold in the United States by the year 2030 will either be plug-in hybrids or electric.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, February 9, senior officials of the Biden administration told reporters that the NEVI Formula Program would help states create a network of EV charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors on the Interstate Highway System.
Despite a rise in sales of electric vehicles in America in recent years, the transportation sector remains one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for around one-third of that amount each year.
CNBC reported that Biden wants more Americans to switch to EVs to lessen gas emissions, and building the infrastructure for charging stations across the country will make that dream closer to reality. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm echoed those sentiments in her speech in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 10, saying that they are not going to go electric fast enough if they "don't have the ability to eliminate range anxiety for people and to be able to have them plug in wherever they live, wherever they work, wherever they want to head."
According to President Biden, the program to create charging stations for electric vehicles could save an average driver who uses an EV up to $1,000 each year on gas. Biden announced that Tritium, an Australian firm that makes EV chargers, will soon break ground on its first manufacturing facility in the United States in Lebanon, Tennessee. The facility is expected to produce up to 30,000 chargers each year and help create 500 local jobs.
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Under the new $5 billion plan, states must submit by August 1 their deployment plans for the EV infrastructure to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, reported Reuters. The Federal Highway Administration will then approve the eligible plans by September 30.
Biden made it a point of emphasis during his speech promoting American companies expanding EV infrastructure in the United States earlier this week, saying that creating a network of charging stations will help ensure that America leads the world on electric vehicles.
Biden added that China might be leading the race up to now, but that is about to change with the U.S. "building convenient, reliable, equitable national public charging networks."
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