By Lauren Fix
Another billion-dollar promise broken – no EV chargers built yet! Not even one! When President Joe Biden announced his billion-dollar plan to build 500,000 EV chargers, it seemed like a game-changing move for the electric vehicle industry. But here’s the harsh reality: not a single charger has been built. Despite the promises made, the numbers speak for themselves. It’s clear that words alone are not enough.
Electric vehicle owners are facing a major obstacle – the lack of accessible chargers. The delay in building these charging stations not only affects current EV owners but also discourages potential buyers from making the switch.
The question remains: Where are the 500,000 EV chargers President Biden promised? It’s time to hold our leaders accountable and demand action on these critical infrastructure projects. Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 Infrastructure Bill to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country
It is an ambitious plan to construct a massive nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network, but has yet to yield a single charger two years later.
Overall, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earmarked $7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers, $5 billion for the so-called National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and another $2.5 billion in discretionary funds for charging and fueling infrastructure, as part of the federal government’s ambitious effort to expand EV ownership and reduce carbon emissions.
So where is all our tax dollars? As of this recording, $101.5 million has been distributed for seven state electric vehicle infrastructure systems and just two projects, located in Columbus, Ohio, and Pittston, Pennsylvania, have begun construction, according to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation which was established by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. At its current pace, the billion-dollar program, designed to build out a network of 500,000 chargers and award $5 billion in five years, will fund a handful of projects and dish out just $250 million in that time frame.
Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger. States and the charger industry blame the delays mostly on the labyrinth of new contracting and performance requirements they have to navigate to receive federal funds. Americans consistently say the lack of charging infrastructure is one of the top reasons they won’t buy an electric car.
Congressional opponents are now trying to shut down the administration’s efforts to build a charging network by choking off its funding.
The United States has around 180,000 chargers today, according to the Energy Department. That includes 41,000 of the type of fast chargers. In a June study, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory projected the U.S. will need 1.2 million public chargers by 2030 to meet charging demand, including 182,000 fast chargers.
Car dealers are continuing to warn of waning interest in EVs and manufacturers are rethinking their EV strategies. We covered that in a past show.
Lauren Fix, The Car Coach®, is a nationally recognized automotive expert, analyst, author, and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and aspects, energy, industry, consumer news, and safety issues.
Lauren is the CEO of Automotive Aspects and the Editor-in-Chief of Car Coach Reports, a global automotive news outlet. She is an automotive contributor to national and local television news shows, including Fox News, Fox Business, CNN International, The Weather Channel, Inside Edition, Local Now News, Community Digital News, and more. Lauren also co-hosts a regular show on ABC.com with Paul Brian called “His Turn – Her Turn” and hosts regular radio segments on USA Radio – DayBreak.
Lauren is honored to be inducted into the Women’s Transportation Hall of Fame and a Board Member of the Buffalo Motorcar Museum and Juror / President for the North American Car, Utility & Truck of the Year Awards.
Check her out on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenFix.
