On March 31st, the Biden-Harris Administration released the American Jobs Plan, a comprehensive plan to upgrade the transportation infrastructure within the U.S. The plan covers rail, freight, bridges, highways and of course, a large focus on transportation electrification. This is the down payment on the future of transportation.
What exactly does the plan mean for electric vehicles (EVs) and the transition to a clean electric transportation future? We outlined the EV components of the plan for you below:
- $174 billion for investment in transportation electrification until 2030.
- Includes point of sale rebates and tax incentives for the purchase or lease of American-made EVs.
- Includes the installation of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. These will be installed through a grant program for states, local governments and the private sector. The plan does not state what percentage will be DCFC or Level 2 or Level 1.
- Includes the replacement of 50,000 diesel transit vehicles with electric buses.
- Includes at least 20% of school buses will be electric school buses.
- The federal fleet of about 650,000 vehicles will go electric. About a third of these vehicles belong to the Department of Defense, a third to the U.S. Postal Service, and a third to all other federal agencies.
While this sounds like a lot, Americans spend about $525 billion on cars annually; $174 billion over the next ten years is a solid investment from the federal government that the private sector can continue to supplement as we move towards an all-electric transportation future.
- $100 billion to modernize our electric grid.
- The plan aims to create a more resilient electric grid that will achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 that can power EVs.
- $52 billion investment for domestic manufacturing.
- The plan will increase access to capital for domestic manufacturers, which could include manufacturers of EVs or for the EV supply chain.
The release of the plan is the start of many additional conversations between Congress and the White House on what an infrastructure plan should look like. Over the next few months, Plug In America will continue to work with the White House and Department of Transportation and educate Members of Congress on the need for strong EV policies and programs, following the principles and policies that we released in January 2021.
View Plug In America’s statement applauding the American Jobs Plan.
Photo credit: “Electric vehicle charging stations” by kahunapulej is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
