WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States government on Monday unveiled an ambitious federal strategy to build 500,000 electric-vehicle charging stations across the country and to lower the price of EVs in order to reshape the American automotive industry.
“The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,” said Vice President Kamala Harris at an electric vehicle charging site in the Maryland suburbs.
The $1 trillion infrastructure law that President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide charging network and reserves $5 billion for states to construct them, including $63 million for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion in local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.
The $2 trillion social and environmental policy plan, currently before the Senate, includes a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 to help reduce the cost of electric vehicles.
The federal government aims to “make electric vehicles affordable for everyone,” Harris said. “Just like filling your car with gasoline.”
Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, on the outskirts of Washington, where she saw a demonstration of how the chargers work and was briefed on a plan to electrify the Prince George’s County government fleet in Maryland.
“There’s no sound and no smoke!” Harris exclaimed as a worker demonstrated the charger. “How do I know it’s really working?” The worker replied that the car is fully charged when the indicator blinks green.
The plan also creates a joint electric-vehicles office between the Energy and Transportation departments; it will issue guidance and standards for states and ensure consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental and civil rights groups, tribes and other stakeholders, the White House said.
The two departments will also launch an EV advisory committee that is expected to be up and running early next year.
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Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.
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