The Biden administration announced last week a $5 billion investment to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country in a bid to ease U.S. dependence on gas-powered cars.
The EV program, which is part of President Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, will distribute the money to qualifying states over a five-year period.
The federal Transportation and Energy Departments will lead the initiative to electrify interstate highways as rising gas prices and climate concerns motivate people to buy electric cars.
Nearly 489,000 electric vehicles were purchased in the U.S. last year, slightly more than 3% of all cars sold, according to J.D. Power.
There are 47,142 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S., according to the Department of Energy. The Biden administration has said its goal is to raise that number to 500,000 chargers.
