As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. He wasn’t talking about electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, of course, but the quote might as well apply to challenges the Biden administration has faced in expanding the nation’s network of EV charging infrastructure.
The administration started with big plans. In 2021, the federal government created the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) to help build fast charging stations for EVs at regular intervals along the nation’s highway system. The initiative aimed to address a major reason why some people are hesitant to buy EVs. A fully charged EV can travel between 110 and 300 miles before its battery is depleted.
That’s fine for travel within a metro area, especially if the driver has a charger at home that can top off their battery at night. But for longer trips where a driver needs to stop and recharge, the lack of charging stations can be problematic.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
