Biden Administration Charts Aggressive Course Toward Electric Vehicle Adoption – Government, Public Sector

President Biden campaigned on a platform that included a
commitment to take dramatic action to address climate change;
within a week of taking office in January 2021, he issued
an 
executive order establishing a task force to develop a
plan to create a carbon pollution-free electricity sector no later
than 2035 and to transition all federal, state, local, and tribal
government fleets, including vehicles of the United States Postal
Service, to clean and zero emission vehicles. The executive order
set an aggressive schedule, requiring the task force to report
within 90 days a plan for achieving these goals. Then, in early
March, the White House 
announced a goal of building 500,000 electric vehicle
charging stations to “most effectively accelerate and scale a
national network of EV charging stations.” While President
Biden’s goals are undoubtedly ambitious, any plans to achieve
those goals will be bounded by practical considerations of electric
vehicle (EV) ownership and operation, including the speed at which
consumers adopt EVs and create a market for the infrastructure to
support their use.

President Biden’s ambitious program to promote the use of
EVs dovetail with state mandates to accelerate the adoption of EVs
by consumers. Last September, California’s governor signed an
executive order banning the sale of new combustion engine cars and
trucks after 2035. Massachusetts followed suit soon thereafter with
a similar mandate that will ban new internal combustion engine
vehicle sales in the state by 2035. Many motor vehicle
manufacturers are quickly moving their product lines in a direction
to meet these mandates. For example, GM has committed to
offer 
30 new EVs by 2025. In the same timeframe, Volvo plans to
have 
50% of its new car sales be EVs, and 100% by 2030. Kia
plans to have 
11 EVs in its product portfolio by 2025. And while California
and Massachusetts have opted to use the proverbial stick to compel
automakers to manufacture EVs and force residents to buy
them, 
45 states are using the carrot of economic incentives to
encourage consumers to adopt EVs voluntarily.

Whether consumers are forced or cajoled into buying EVs, the
realities are these. Only about 
2% of cars sold in the United States today are EVs. With
respect to EV charging stations, there are currently only
about 
27,000 public charging station locations nationwide;
conversely, there are roughly 
115,000 gas stations in the United States
today. Public-private partnerships (“P3s”) are a
likely means of developing charging infrastructure across America.
For example, the New York State Throughway Authority procured a
33-year P3 to modernize, operate and maintain 27 rest areas, and
the Authority’s private partner plans to install and 
maintain charging stations at each of these rest areas.

The 
maximum range of a 2020 Tesla Model S is 402 miles, not
dissimilar to the range of an internal combustion engine vehicle
with a full tank of gas, but it can take up to 
10 hours to fully charge a Model S using a home installed
charger. Even Level 3 fast chargers using direct current (DC) plugs
require 20-30 minutes to charge an EV battery to 80% capacity. Put
simply, owning and operating an EV will require more planning than
American consumers are accustomed to, and the widespread acceptance
of EVs will require a change in mindset, and infrastructure to go
with it, that cannot simply be mandated or bought.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.