EVs are catching on more than ever, but charging stations are still necessary for people to be able to enjoy the same freedom of movement with EVs as they have with gas-powered cars for the past century.
To facilitate this, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced the approval of EV charging stations for all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. States will have access to $1.5 billion in federal monies to build the chargers. The network will cover 75,000 miles of highway.
“America led the original automotive revolution in the last century, and today, thanks to the historic resources in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re poised to lead in the 21st century with electric vehicles,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We have approved plans for all 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country - from the largest cities to the most rural communities - can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles.”
Last year, President Joe Biden said he wanted half of all U.S. vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, reported The Guardian. New vehicle efficiency standards that require new cars to lower their greenhouse gas emissions by ten percent beginning next year - which had been withdrawn under Donald Trump - were also reinstated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and USDOT. Additional emissions reductions of five percent per year will be mandated until 2026.
Currently, the U.S. has about 47,000 EV charging stations. The White House goal of building a network of 500,000 EV charge points across the country by 2030 was announced in June.
“The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified” Biden said a couple of weeks ago.
USDOT said DC fast chargers should be funded by the states and EV charging infrastructure should be installed every 50 miles along interstate highways, reported Reuters. The charge points should also be no more than a mile from highways, and they should be able to charge four EVs at the same time.
The network of EV chargers will be funded by last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, which has $7.5 billion earmarked for charging infrastructure.
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