On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved plans to build electric vehicle charging stations in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
CNBC reports that earlier this year, the Biden administration allocated $5 billion to fund the building of EV charging stations over the course of five years. Under the plan, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, states delivered their cost proposals for EV chargers to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
"We have approved plans for all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country — from the largest cities to the most rural communities — can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday in a statement.
So far, the White House has put in $135 billion toward developing an electric vehicle infrastructure and aims to build a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. But there has been no known development for the electric grid or what would supply power to the charging stations.
The Biden administration has set a goal for EVs to account for 50% of all car sales by 2030. Additionally, under the Transportation Department's plan, DOT officials have maintained that states should install charging stations every 50 miles along and one mile within an interstate highway.
"With this greenlight, states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico can ramp up their work to build out EV charging networks that will make driving an EV more convenient and affordable for their residents and will serve as the backbone of our national EV charging network," acting Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack said.
"The Federal Highway Administration will continue to work closely with states as we implement this historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bring President Biden's vision for a national electric vehicle network to communities across America."
The approval to build charging stations in all 50 states comes one week after Stanford University published a study warning against charging EVs at night while adding that without improvements, power grids in the U.S. are liable to undergo significant stress.
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