In June 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS announced that U.S. consumers have saved more than $1 billion in upfront costs on their purchase of more than 150,000 clean vehicles since January 1, 2024, thanks to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”). The IRA’s 30D clean vehicle credit and 25E previously owned clean vehicle credit, and the transfer mechanisms for such credits, have enabled consumers to realize greater savings on electric vehicles (EVs) at the point of sale rather than waiting to recoup the benefits of the tax credits when the vehicle purchaser later files their taxes.
These investments are a significant milestone toward achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Although EV sales continued to slow this past quarter, U.S. EV sales were up by 23% over the prior quarter, and global EV sales are up overall. At the same time, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to roll out funds under several IRA programs aimed at alleviating another barrier to widespread EV adoption – range anxiety.
This update provides a quick look at recent federal award announcements under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program, EV policy challenges facing states, and a few noteworthy industry updates over the last quarter.
U.S. Government Policy News
- On August 27, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $521 million in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant Program awards to continue the build-out of electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in communities across the country. The grants will fund the construction of more than 9,200 EV charging ports, with the majority of the investment, $321 million, designated for 41 projects that expand all types of EV infrastructure in communities, including Level 2 and direct current fast chargers. The remaining $200 million will go towards building fast-charging projects along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program.
- The U.S. Department of Energy and the Joint Office for Energy and Transportation launched the Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) for Clean Energy Interconnection and Energization program. The iQMS program will award $11.2 million to distribution utilities to pilot solutions for managing the queue of renewable energy and electric vehicle charging interconnection and energization project applications. Applications will be accepted until October 16, 2024.
- In its Q3 2024 update, the Joint Office for Energy and Transportation announced that there are now nearly 192,000 publicly available charging ports in the U.S., marking an increase of about 9,000 ports from May to August. There are now 69 NEVI-funded public charging ports across 17 stations in eight states, more than twice as many operational NEVI ports as last quarter. Utah and Rhode Island opened their first NEVI-funded charging stations. California, Connecticut, Alabama, Maryland, Minnesota, and Arizona announced awards or conditional awards for fast charging stations.
State Policy News
- On Saturday, August 31, the California Legislature passed SB 59, which gives regulators the authority to implement bidirectional charging requirements for electric vehicles. The bill directs the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the California Air Resources Board and Public Utilities Commission, to study vehicle readiness for bidirectional charging technology and would give the agencies the authority to mandate its use if there’s a “sufficiently compelling” benefit to electric vehicle owners and the electrical grid.
- The state of Maine is the third state to face litigation regarding its climate targets. The case brought earlier this year by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Sierra Club and Maine Youth Action argues that the Maine Department and Board of Environmental Protection failed in their duty to pass rules to help Maine achieve its statutory emissions targets: to lower greenhouse gas emissions 45% from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The suit comes after failed attempts by CLF to convince regulators to adopt California’s latest electric car and truck standards, which would have required increasing EV sales over the next several years to make up for lagging progress (Maine has about 12,300 EVs on the road now, with climate plan goals of 41,000 EVs on the road by 2025 and 219,000 on the road by 2030). The plaintiffs’ focus on the failure to implement EV policies aligns with the similarly narrow, targeted aim of CLF’s suit against the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and a similar dispute against the Hawaii Department of Transportation.
- On August 16, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that an additional $200 million is now available to school districts and bus operators for zero-emission school buses through the second installment of funding from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. The funding is distributed through the New York School Bus Incentive Program, which supports the purchase of electric buses, charging infrastructure or fleet electrification planning as public schools transition to zero-emission technologies that improve air quality and reduce pollution in communities.
- Earlier this summer, Governor Hochul decided to table the long-awaited implementation of congestion pricing in New York City, a plan that would have charged vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street as much as $15 during peak hours, with some exceptions for low-income residents and vehicles carrying persons with disabilities. In turn, the plan would provide the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $1 billion a year to renovate subways and busses. Governor Hochul put the plan on indefinite pause on June 5, 2024, citing additional cost impacts that would have unintended consequences for those who live and work in New York City.
Industry News
- Several automakers pushed back or indefinitely halted plans to roll out new models, citing the perception that EV adoption has been slower than anticipated. Ford slashed its EV development budget by roughly $12 billion and put on hold its plans to roll out models initially slated for launch in 2025. Other automakers, like Volkswagen, also delayed plans to build out additional battery factories for EVs, indicating that its three planned factories may be enough to meet perceived 2030 demand.
- A JD Power study identified the public EV charging network as the culprit for the slow adoption of EVs across the U.S. While EV owners expressed dissatisfaction overall with varying charger speeds by charger type, lack of automated payment systems, and the inability to charge upon visiting a charger, the study notes that there are clear signs of consumer satisfaction with improvements to the public charging network as more fast chargers have been deployed.
- General Motors, Stellantis, Fiat Chrysler and others have announced new model EVs to debut in 2025 and 2026, including Cadillac, Dodge, GMC, and Jeep models.
