US Vice President Kamala Harris announced the government’s plan to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) across the country. This is part of President Joe Biden’s goal to make electric vehicles more accessible for both local and long-distance travel. Previously, the US government planned to replace 600,000 government vehicles into electric cars. Harris made the announcement at a ceremony at an EV charging facility in Maryland, located outside the capital Washington DC.
“There’s no question: the future of transportation in our country and around the world is electricity,” Harris said Monday, December 13, 2021. According to him, the US’ ability to build, charge and repair electric cars will help define the health conditions of Americans, the strength of the nation’s economy. , and the sustainability of the planet we live in.
Plans to build electric vehicle charging stations take a budget of $5 billion from the Infrastructure Act passed last month. The funds will be channeled to states to build electric charging stations.
The regulation also provides an additional $2.5 billion in grants to support charging stations in rural areas and underserved communities.
In a statement, the White House also announced it would establish a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, leveraging resources from each department to implement the EV charging grid and other electrification arrangements under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.