President Joe Biden will award $623 million in grants to help build an electric vehicle charging network that is truly nationwide.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticizes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent anti-LGBTQ ad, questioning the video's obective.
The grants will be announced on Thursday and will aid in the building of 47 electric vehicle charging stations, as well as other projects. They'll be built in 22 states and Puerto Rico.
This grant will also include 7,500 charging ports, according to the Associated Press.
"America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution - securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
He further stated that it "will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable and convenient for American drivers while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation and maintenance for American workers."
In 2021, Congress approved $7.5 billion included in the infrastructure law, which is meant to help Biden meet his goal of a national network of 500,000 publicly available charges by 2023.
On Monday, HNGN reported that China's electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has surpassed Tesla in the manufacturing of electric vehicles in 2023, producing 3 million vehicles in the year. Tesla has not announced its number yet, but estimates are that the total sits around $1.5 million.
Electric vehicle sales have more than quadrupled since 2021, Biden's first year in office. However, the rollout of a national network has been turtle-like, with only Ohio and New York being the only states that have opened charging stations under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
Pennsylvania and Maine have broken ground on federally funded EV programs as well. Currently, a total of 28 states, plus Puerto Rico, have been awarded contracts to build chargers or have accepted bids to do so. White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters that charging ports have grown by 70% since Biden took office.
The total number is 168,426, but it is still only one-third of Biden's goal. "We are on an accelerating trajectory to meet and exceed the president's goal to hit 500,000 chargers and build that nationwide backbone,'' Zaidi told reporters Wednesday.
