World

US Vice President Harris reveals plans for electric vehicle charging network

WASHINGTON –

The Biden administration on Monday announced an ambitious federal strategy to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country and reduce the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the US auto industry.

“The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,” said Vice President Kamala Harris at an electric vehicle charging facility in suburban Maryland.

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide network of charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states to build them, including 63 million dollars for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion in local grants to support toll stations in rural areas and disadvantaged communities.

Biden’s $2 trillion environmental and social policy bill, currently approved in the Senate, includes a $7,500 tax credit to reduce electric vehicle costs.

The Biden administration wants to “make electric vehicles accessible to everyone,” Harris said. “Totally make it accessible to everyone and easy. Just like refueling your car.”

Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she received a demonstration of how the charger works and learned about plans to electrify a fleet of government vehicles in Maryland’s Prince George County. .

“No sound or smoke!” Harris exclaimed as a local employee demonstrated the charger. “How do I know it actually works?”

The worker told her the car was fully charged when it flashed green.

The new EV charging strategy establishes a joint electric vehicle office between the federal Departments of Energy and Transportation; issue guidelines and standards for the states; and ensure consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental and civil rights groups, tribes and others, the White House said.

The two departments will also form an electric vehicle advisory committee that officials hope to have up and running early next year.

Accelerating adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets will help meet Biden’s goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and create thousands of jobs, the White House said. , the White House said.

The effort is also intended to help the United States stay ahead of China in the plug-in electric vehicle market. Currently, the US market share of plug-in electric vehicles is one-third that of the Chinese electric vehicle market.

Biden has set a goal of electric cars and trucks making up half of new car sales by 2030.

Automotive consulting firm LMC expects U.S. all-new vehicle sales to reach nearly 400,000 units this year, nearly double last year’s figure. Electric vehicles still only account for about 2.6% of sales, but the company expects sales to grow to more than 730,000 next year and more than 2 million by 2025.

Even at 2 million, electric vehicle sales are still only about 12% of US new car sales.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being so preoccupied with electric vehicle technology as Americans are competing with gas and gas prices. naturally skyrocketed.

Last month, Biden ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from the US strategic reserves, with coordination from other major energy consuming nations. Gasoline prices have fallen in recent weeks due to fears of another possible economic slowdown due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to the American Automobile Association, the average price on Sunday was $3.33 a gallon, down about 7 cents from the end of last month.

——

Associated Press writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story

Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button