The Biden administration is awarding $623 million in grants for the construction of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the United States, officials stated on Jan. 11.
The grants will fund 47 EV charging and alternative fueling infrastructure projects across 22 states and Puerto Rico, including the construction of 7,500 EV charging ports.
“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution—securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers.”
The funds will be sourced from the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
“Every community across the nation deserves access to convenient and reliable clean transportation,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “The Biden-Harris Administration is bringing an accessible, made-in-America charging network into thousands of communities while cutting the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis.”
Tempered Expectations
The announcement coincided with the news that Hertz will sell about 20,000 EVs—one-third of its electric fleet—to buy gas-powered vehicles. The car rental giant cited higher collision and damage costs and a decline in demand as the reason for the move in its Jan. 11 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The Company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs. This will position the Company to eliminate a disproportionate number of lower margin rentals and reduce damage expense associated with EVs.”
The move marks a backing away from the company’s prior goal of electrifying a quarter of its fleet by the end of 2024.
According to a recent KPMG survey, EV penetration hasn’t occurred as rapidly as auto executives first anticipated.
“Just a year ago, executives were excited about the prospects for transforming the industry with new kinds of cars. Now, they remain optimistic, but they are more sober about how difficult it will be to manage the transition and preserve or increase profits,” the survey found.
China in Charge
EVs were also a topic of discussion on Capitol Hill, where the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources delved into the geopolitical implications of a mass conversion to EVs.Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), addressing Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk, noted that China currently corners the market on EV production, including the production of the lithium-ion batteries that they require.
“Yet your administration, this president’s administration, the mandates that you put in place require that two-thirds of our new vehicle sales in just the next eight years—two-thirds of them—be electric vehicles. Your policies are driving us and our supply chains into the hands of our greatest geostrategic enemy,” the senator said, questioning how that could be good for the United States and its people.
Mr. Turk stressed that the administration is working to “diversify” the supply chain so that the United States isn’t dependent on China for EV production.
But Mr. Hawley noted that the Biden administration has “reinterpreted” the Inflation Reduction Act to allow Chinese companies to benefit from tax credits for EV manufacturers, an allowance that Congress expressly forbade in the text.
“Now, U.S. tax dollars are literally subsidizing Chinese battery makers,” he said. “Why would we want to do that? Why would we want to not only give our adversary our supply chains and our jobs but pay them to take them from us? Why does that make any sense?”
“I would strongly disagree with that,” Mr. Turk said, noting that “only 13 models” currently qualify for the tax credit. “All of this is implementing the legislation that has been passed.”
