DALLAS — The U.S. government wants electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to be as ubiquitous as gas stations, particularly along the interstate highway system.
“You look at these newer electric vehicles, they’ve got 200, 300, 400 mile range already. But if you’re driving across those wide open spaces, or you’re driving all day, you’re going to want to know there’s a charger when and where you need it,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Inside Texas Politics.
The U.S. departments of transportation and energy are providing nearly $5 billion over five years to help states create a network of EV charging stations. It’s all part of the infrastructure law, and the feds want states to take the lead so there’s no "one-size-fits-all" approach out of Washington.
All states have to do is submit a plan.
Watch the segment below:
During round one, the state of Texas is poised to receive the largest chunk of money, more than $60 million. The Texas Department of Transportation has indicated it will submit a plan and take advantage of the funding.
But Buttigieg says there is a backup plan in place in case that doesn’t happen.
“In the unlikely event that the state chooses not to submit a plan, we’re not going to allow Texans to be punished for that,” he said. “The money, according to the infrastructure law, basically rolls over so that individual communities can go ahead and apply for it.”
The transportation secretary says we should expect to see many chargers going into the ground this year. He says the goal is to not only accelerate the progress of the EV revolution, but also to make sure the chargers are made in America.
“This funding goes out across the next five years. We’ve got a goal across this decade to get 500,000 chargers deployed across the U.S. by 2030,” said Buttigieg.