From the git-go let me be clear. I do not own an electric vehicle nor do I have plans to buy one. Also let me be clear I do not make it a habit to read Politico, which leans strongly to the left politically. However, on 12/5/23 I came across an interesting and revealing Politico piece titled
“Congress provided $7.5B for electric vehicle chargers. Built so far: Zero.”
In other words the pie-in-the-sky plan to have EV charging stations everywhere is just not happening.
In a June study, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory projected the U.S. will need 1.2 million public chargers by 2030 to meet charging demand, including 182,000 fast chargers. To repeat …”not happening!”
From the Politico article …
“Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change. Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger.
“Getting chargers up and running across the country is essential to reaching President Joe Biden’s goal of having half the vehicles sold in the United States be electric by the end of the decade — a key cog of his climate agenda. Americans consistently say the lack of charging infrastructure is one of the top reasons they won’t buy an electric car.”
In my opinion these government inspired EV mandates are a boondoggle that is destined to fail, and the lack of charging stations is only one of the reasons. When one thinks logically about the logistics of implementing such a nationwide program, to me it is apparent that it will be impossible north of the Mason-Dixon Line, because there is just not a consistent amount of year ‘round sunshine to provide the energy to power millions of EVs in the more northern parts of this country. Likewise until there is a feasible way to store the energy produced by solar panels, in northern states, EVs may run in the summer, but not in the winter.
Similarly, there is an urban-rural disconnect. In cities with a vertical population there is no possible way provide the electric fuel for all of the cars owned by those living in these high rise buildings. Furthermore in rural locales, conveniently spaced charging stations would be a must … and as Politiconotes, this is just not happening.
Here again I find myself agreeing with Donald Trump who has railed against subsidies for EVs and the infrastructure that powers them, arguing the market should dictate what type of car Americans drive. But he has also relentlessly attacked EVs for their range and the dearth of chargers — the issue Biden is aiming to solve with the infrastructure law funds, which not surprisingly is not happening!
12/12/23