However, in a twist few would have foreseen, the United States can soon expect a tsunami of new electric vehicle (EV) chargers around the country, and, strangely enough, it is the Trump administration that should be given some of the credit.
The transition to cleaner transportation in the country had been initially proposed by the Biden administration through a program of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI), which was aimed at supercharging the transition. The idea was simple: the state projects should be financed to initiate DC fast chargers along the highways and in underserved regions to create reliable access to EVs throughout the coast.
The Push to Kill and the Intervention of the Court
One of the first action steps of the Trump administration, which came back to power, was canceling the initiatives of green energy. The NEVI funding was soon dubbed as wasteful and political in nature. According to officials, federal aid to EVs was unjust to remain in the free market and favor one part of the auto industry.
There was firm opposition to that push by environmentalists, auto companies, and even some Republican governors who already factored the funds into their infrastructure programs. In July, a federal court declared that the cancellation of the NEVI funds by the administration was against the proper procedures as per the federal regulations. The court also directed the program to resume operation, a big victory for the EV industry.
The Turnaround: Refusal to Appeal
The real surprise came next. The Trump administration silently accepted the ruling of the court as opposed to appealing against it. However, instead of just letting the program run its course as it was, it put in place new regulations, which, ironically, expedited the implementation of EV chargers.
The total mood has changed, and a new sense of urgency to deploy these dollars is present, one state energy official opined. The administration must have known that you can’t stop the EV transition politically or economically.
Cutting Red Tape, Not Cables
Within the framework of the Biden era, states and companies needed to go through a maze of demands: tough Buy American clauses, complicated labor standards, and long-term environmental audits. Although such safeguards had good intentions, they could take months to get completed.
The new policies introduced by the Trump administration have made these processes simpler, by contrast. Charger environmental review on existing roads is accelerated. The Buy American rule has been extended to the suppliers of the allied countries. And federal labor certification has been made into a single office to minimize paperwork.
The outcomes are already apparent. States that were previously having a difficult time trying to implement charger projects, such as Texas, Florida, and Ohio, are reporting fast gains. There are also the private networks like Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint that are hastening the construction of networks, trying to seize federal grants before their due dates are met.
The Ironic Outcome
What started as a political fight on climate spending may end up providing one of the most significant enhancements in EV infrastructure in U.S. history. Such a weird combination of resistance, turnabout, and reform has led to a situation where the implementation of chargers is accelerating at an unprecedented pace.
Simply put, the Trump administration might have unintentionally done more in one way to hasten EV infrastructure than some of its predecessors ever did in a deliberate attempt.
