Infrastructure

Analysis: U.S. needs 1 million new electric vehicle charging stations to meet Biden’s goal

Analysis: U.S. needs 1 million new electric vehicle charging stations to meet Biden’s goal
An electric vehicle charging station (Flickr/Pat Gerber)

The U.S. needs 1.03 million new charging stations to support President Biden’s goal of electric vehicles making up 50% of car sales by 2030, new analysis shows.

The analysis by policy think tank Third Way comes as major automakers have made (non-binding) agreements to significantly boost the share of EVs sold to meet pressing climate goals. But current EV charging infrastructure is extremely inadequate.

“While private companies are building out more and more EV charging infrastructure to accommodate the accelerating shift towards EVs, we need federal support to ensure a robust buildout and to make sure this infrastructure is available to all drivers, including those in rural and underserved communities,” authors Ellen Hughes-Cromwick and Alexander Laska wrote.

The report estimates that $7.5 billion set aside for EV charging infrastructure in the bipartisan infrastructure deal could help fund as many as 600,000 charging stations. The authors recommend an expansion of the 30C Alternative Fuel Refueling Property Credit through budget reconciliation to finish the job.

There are 96,000 public chargers, and 14,000 private ones, in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Third Way projections:

  • 50% of light-duty vehicle sales must be Evs to meet 2030 goal
  • 27 million EVs on the road in 2030 to meet 50% sales goal, requiring 1.125 million public chargers
  • $6.5 billion funding needed in addition to the bipartisan infrastructure deal to support EV infrastructure buildout