ICYMI: How the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Boosts Electric Vehicles

"This is transformational for electric vehicles."

Today, the Wall Street Journal explored how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will build out our nation's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and make driving EVs more accessible and affordable. The Journal writes the investments will "jump-start the electric-vehicle industry" and "eventually to deliver funds to numerous industries." Policy leaders lauded the progress the investments make for the country, with one noting the deal "is transformational for electric vehicles." The story also notes how the Build Back Better Framework proposes tax credits to further realize the President's full vision to accelerate and deploy electric vehicles nationwide and create good-paying, union jobs while lowering the costs for working families.

Read excerpts from the story below:

Wall Street Journal: Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations Win Jolt of Energy in Congress
[Jennifer Hiller, 11/8/21]

The roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress on Friday provides a spark to efforts to build a national network of electric-vehicle charging stations.
The bipartisan measure touches on nearly every aspect of the electric-vehicle industry and eclipses previous efforts in the U.S. It also includes funding to help transform the nation's aging electric grid by upgrading high-voltage transmission lines and other infrastructure set to become even more crucial as the country electrifies more of its transportation system.

It directs $5 billion to expanding electric-vehicle highway charging, which once in place would let drivers take longer road trips without the fear of running out of power. Proponents consider long-distance charging networks a critical missing ingredient for wider adoption of EVs.

A further $2.5 billion in federal grant funding could go toward electric-vehicle charging or alternatives such as hydrogen-fueling infrastructure, while $2.5 billion is set aside for electrifying school buses. Even more money for EVs could come through a separate $2.5 billion for low-emissions school buses, or measures such as $2.25 billion for ports that could be tapped for electrification projects.

"These are big, big numbers relative to what's happened in the United States," said Nick Nigro, founder of Atlas Public Policy, a Washington, D.C., research firm that tracks the EV market. "This is transformational for electric vehicles."

The money to jump-start the electric-vehicle industry is just one component in the biggest federal infrastructure-investment package in more than a decade—one expected eventually to deliver funds to numerous industries. The legislation, which President Biden has indicated he will sign soon, includes funds to fix aging roads, bridges and ports, replace lead pipes in drinking-water systems, expand internet access in rural areas and tune up the power grid, among other projects.

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A separate spending bill contains billions more in potential funding for EVs and the electric grid, though its fate and final details are uncertain. The spending bill includes a 30% tax credit for developers of long-distance transmission lines. It also includes an increase in tax credits for some electric-vehicle buyers, which could rise from $7,500 to $12,500.

The push to electrify vehicles comes at the same time the country's electric grid has proven vulnerable to fires in the West and hurricanes along the coasts, as well as winter storms in Texas. There is debate in the industry about the ability of the current system to handle many new kinds of uses. Some sources of renewable energy, such as rooftop solar panels, can feed power back into the grid, but make planning more complex for grid operators.

The infrastructure package directs $2.5 billion in funding to transmission projects and $3 billion for smart-grid grants, which would use new technologies to help deliver more power over existing lines.

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