Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will expand across the United States after the Department of Transportation approves expansion plans.
The new plans allow all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, to access more than $1.5 billion in funding to build EV chargers. The plan is to cover about 75,000 total miles of highway, the agency said. The funding is part of President Biden‘s Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, and will make $5 billion available over five years, Travel + Leisure reported.
Biden plans to build a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers. The administration also wants half of all new vehicles purchased in 2030 to be zero-emissions vehicles.
“America led the original automotive revolution in the last century, and today, thanks to the historic resources in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re poised to lead in the 21st century with electric vehicles,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, adding the money will “help ensure that Americans in every part of the country – from the largest cities to the most rural communities — can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles.”
Under the new plan, each state can get reimbursed for charging-related projects, including upgrading existing chargers and constructing new ones.
“Every single state, D.C. and Puerto Rico are working to leverage the investments from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic electric vehicle charging across America,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in the statement. “President Biden is leading the shift to electrify transportation — ensuring drivers can commute and charge confidently and affordably, and lessening our oversized reliance on fossil fuels while combatting climate change.”
