Washington — According to a new rule proposed by the Biden administration on Thursday, electric vehicle charging stations built in federal dollars will be placed every 50 miles along the interstate highway, allowing cars to be charged quickly and on major highways. Must be located within 1 mile from.
“EV drivers should be able to find a place where they can easily charge wherever they go,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Butigeg told reporters Wednesday.
Butigeg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm outlined the proposed regulations. It aims to give rural areas and communities with few services access to charging stations in the same way as urban areas already accessible.
The new standard is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to promote the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, with the goal of making half of all new vehicles sold in the United States electric vehicles by 2030.
An important year for electric vehicles
The popularity of battery-powered vehicles is skyrocketing around the world as the entire automotive market stagnates.
Under the proposed new rules, the state must provide every charging station with at least four of the fastest type of charging ports, called DirectCurrent quick chargers, so that multiple drivers can connect at the same time.
Butigeg said the plan needs to send a “market signal” to companies building charging stations and provide standard equipment for all models of electric and zero-emission vehicles. Along I-95 in the northeast, many rest areas are equipped with chargers that can only accommodate Tesla vehicles.
Under the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Biden last year, the government will provide the state with $ 7.5 billion to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations.
In a bill announcement released Thursday, the government said it would ban charging stations built in federal dollars from demanding paying members. Charging stations also need to be able to use mobile apps to provide real-time information about pricing and port availability.
Biden administration officials have pointed out electric cars as an answer to rising gasoline prices. Electric cars are generally much cheaper to drive than cars that burn gasoline. The government is also promoting electric vehicles as a way to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and combat climate change.
Electric vehicle sales are strong and many manufacturers are making a waiting list for new cars, but concerns about initial sticker prices and enough space to charge are growing consumer acceptance. Is considered a barrier to
Government officials said they believed that the hurdles for charging stations were being resolved. Biden has set a goal of building 500,000 charging stations nationwide by 2030.
A senior government official on Wednesday said internal modeling showed that $ 7.5 billion in infrastructure law was sufficient to reach and perhaps exceed Mr. Biden’s goal.
Granholm said the criteria proposed Thursday should reassure drivers who can charge wherever they are.
“If you want to build an infrastructure that you haven’t done since the Eisenhower era, you have to do it right,” she said.
Making electric cars more affordable will be more difficult for the Biden administration to tackle. Tax credits of up to $ 12,500 for consumers buying electric cars are at a loss at Capitol Hill. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin III has voted for his party to secure to pass the bill, given that there are currently some vehicle waiting lists for electric vehicles. I called the rebate “ridiculous.”
Currently, electric vehicle sales account for 4.6% of new purchases in the United States. Granholm said sales of electric vehicles doubled last year and are doubling again in 2022, despite supply chain problems and shortages of semiconductors.
The GOP portrays the Biden administration as unheard of on this issue, seeking more expensive electric cars when Americans are suffering from inflation. Republicans raided in March when Butigeg realized the gasoline savings he could get from driving an electric car.
“Don’t say you’re a liberal elite, say you’re a liberal elite,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted.