U.S. Sets Aside $4.5 Billion to Bolster EV Charging Infrastructure

The White House will offer up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees to support the creation of new EV charging stations.

“By working together across the Federal government and with the private sector, we can ensure that electric vehicle drivers have access to charging stations at home, at work, and on the road,” the White House said in a recent statement.  Automakers, EV charging companies, energy companies, and other organizations have signed on to support the “Guiding Principles to Promote Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure,” expressing their commitment to help accelerate the deployment of EV charging stations.

With the help of state and local officials, the federal government will design corridors along major highways where drivers can find EV charging stations as well as hydrogen, propane, and natural gas stations. Drivers will be able to identify the corridors with signs on the road.

“We can’t have Smart Cities without Smart Highways,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “Making sure drivers with alternative fuel vehicles can use the national highway system, rather than being limited only to local areas, is the next step in advancing America’s transportation network.”

In 2014, the federal government outlined a plan to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28 percent by 2025, and 80 percent by 2050. The White House says that over the past eight years alone, the number of EV charging stations has jumped to 16,000, up significantly from less than 500 in 2008.

The government has previously made overly ambitious plans when it comes to electric vehicles. In 2008, the Obama Administration hoped to put 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, but that plan faltered.

Source: The White House, U.S. Department of Transportation

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