U.S. electric vehicle charging network is growing, but not fast enough

In a report, the White House released new figures on the development of the country’s electric vehicle charging network, a small positive development in what is typically a sore spot for electric vehicle adoption.

In his Third Quarter UpdateThe Joint Office of Energy and Transportation revealed that there are more than 192,000 publicly accessible Level 2 or DC charging ports in the United States, an increase of about 9,000 ports from the second quarter but down from the 13,000 ports added in the second quarter.

The country’s charging infrastructure consists mainly of private networks, although the government, through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, is funding this development as well as state initiatives to increase the number of public chargers.

President Joe Biden has invested enormous political capital in the U.S. EV transformation, including a $7.5 billion investment to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country. Using public and private funds, the White House is targeting 500,000 new chargers by the end of the decade through the NEVI program.

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation said the size of the nation’s charging network has doubled since the start of the Biden-Harris administration.

In March, the White House came under fire when it revealed that only seven charging stations are funded by public funds Since the program began in 2021, 38 charging ports have been built. The White House has countered that it took its time to “get it right” and that construction would accelerate as 2024 progresses.

“Currently, 69 NEVI-funded public chargers are operating at 17 stations in eight states, more than doubling the number of NEVI stations in operation since last quarter. A total of 40 states have issued at least their first round of RFPs,” the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation said in the third quarter report. “Of these states, 29 have issued conditional awards or entered into agreements for more than 2,800 fast chargers at more than 700 charging station locations.”

Experts believe that the delay It also depends on state and local governments, which, despite NEVI funding, have little or no experience building charging infrastructure.

However, establishing and increasing the number of publicly accessible chargers is essential to achieving the administration’s goal of electrifying the country’s vehicle fleet. new vehicle emissions targetalthough less severe than initially expected, will nevertheless require more electric vehicles on the roads by 2030.

And charging is a key part of this. A Yahoo Finance-Ipsos poll conducted in late 2023 found that the number one reason Americans are hesitant to buy an electric vehicle is a lack of charging stations or home charging, with 77% of respondents citing this concern.

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“I’m often asked if there is a magic number of public charging stations we need in the United States. That’s a very difficult question to answer because having an adequate charging network is critical…