How not a SINGLE electric vehicle charging station has been constructed in the two years since Biden demanded $7.5 BILLION be spent on a nationwide network
In the two years since Joe Biden persuaded Congress to spend $7.5 billion to build a national network of electric vehicle charging stations, not a single electric vehicle charging station has been built.
Industry insiders blamed the delays on bureaucratic red tape imposed by contracting and performance requirements laws. Politico reported on Tuesday..
The bulk of the funds, $5 billion, would go toward building fast-charging stations along major interstates—the so-called National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program.
To meet federal program requirements, chargers must be installed at least every 50 miles on major highways and be operational 97 percent of the time.
They must also accept credit card payments, and some components must be processed domestically.
“Anybody can throw a charger in the ground—it’s not that hard, it doesn’t take long,” a Biden administration insider told the website. “Building a network is different.”
In the two years since the passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that allocated $7.5 billion to build a national grid, not a single electric vehicle charging station has been installed.
President Joe Biden was photographed arriving in Boston on Tuesday. The president has been pushing an electric vehicle program since taking office, and a lack of completed charging stations could hurt that program during his 2024 re-election bid.
The official told Politico that sluggish pace should be expected, given that the goal is to create a “user-friendly, accessible, equitable, made-in-America network.”
Biden officials have said they expect a large number of charging stations to be available in early 2024.
“This program has suffered from a number of frustrating delays and will continue to do so as the industry tries to catch up with the regulations that were put in place,” Patrick Murphy, who leads the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s NEVI funding, told Politico.
“But we also understand that these rules will help create the kind of consistent, user-friendly national network we need to grow EV adoption,” Murphy added.
So far, construction has begun on only two electric vehicle charging stations—one in Pennsylvania and one in Ohio.
NEVI funds are given to states, which can then contract with private companies to build charging stations.
To date, each state has submitted a plan to receive NEVI funds.
If the governor refuses the funds, municipalities will be allowed to apply for the dollars.
Politico found that 27 states and Washington have not yet begun submitting applications, and officials in Missouri say the process may not begin until 2025.
Fifteen states and Puerto Rico have begun soliciting bids, and six states have awarded contracts to build their first charging stations.
Delays could be costly for the president politically.
Biden has been pushing an electric vehicle program since taking office, and the lack of charging stations built could hurt the program during his 2024 re-election bid.
Former President Donald Trump has already signaled that he would abandon any plans to develop electric vehicle infrastructure if he recaptures the White House after next year’s November election.
Trump has long been skeptical about greening the American economy, calling climate change a Chinese “hoax” and suggesting windmills kill birds and cause cancer.
Regarding electric vehicles, Trump told an audience of auto mechanics in Michigan in September: “They say the happiest day you buy an electric car is the first 10 minutes you drive it.”
“And then panic sets in because you’re worried, ‘Where the hell am I going to get the board to support this thing?’ – he thought.
Republicans in Congress have also taken steps to slow down Biden’s electric vehicle program.
Wyoming Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman attempted to defend the NEVI program by introducing an amendment in November that was defeated.
Administration officials told Politico they were not concerned about the rollback because red state governors and private business leaders signed on to the agreement.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, for example, has said he is committed to the NEVI program, which “truly prepares Ohioans for an electric future.”
“This groundbreaking decision further demonstrates the state’s commitment to installing chargers as quickly as possible for the benefit of Ohio drivers,” DeWine said, being one of the first two states to reach this milestone.