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Your Tax Dollars At Work: In Two Years, $7.5 Billion Has Produced Just 7 EV Charging Stations

May 12, 2024

Your Tax Dollars At Work: In Two Years, $7.5 Billion Has Produced Just 7 EV Charging Stations

When people gripe about paying taxes and the government being a poor the absolute worst possible capital allocation, this is what they are talking about: $7.5 billion in investments for electric vehicles has – in two years – produced just 7 charging stations across four states. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by Biden in November 2021, allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging, the Washington Post writes. Of this amount, $5 billion went to states as “formula funding” for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program to establish a network of fast chargers along major highways.

Today, there’s seven chargers with a total of just 38 parking spots. And, come on: when the Post is calling it out, you know the results have been horrible.

The Post added that with the Biden administration’s new emissions rules requiring more electric and hybrid vehicles, the slow pace of charging infrastructure development could hinder the transition to electric cars. Twelve additional states have awarded contracts for charging station construction, while 17 states have yet to issue proposals.

Alexander Laska, deputy director for transportation and innovation at the center-left think tank Third Way, told The Post: “I think a lot of people who are watching this are getting concerned about the timeline.”

The slow rollout of new EV chargers is partly due to higher standards compared to previous fast chargers. The U.S. has nearly 10,000 fast charging stations, including over 2,000 reliable Tesla Superchargers, but non-Tesla chargers often suffer from poor performance.

New Biden administration rules require chargers to be 97% operational, offer 150kW power, and be within one mile of highways. These standards are crucial but slow down progress due to complex rules, permitting challenges, and power demands. The NEVI program aims to boost fast charging capacity by 50% to reduce “range anxiety,” but states must first build the chargers.

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