US Department of Transportation Approves Plan to Build Statewide Electric Car Power Station, World's Largest

JAKARTA - The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced on Tuesday, September 27 that it has approved plans for electric vehicle charging stations in all 50 states, from Washington and Puerto Rico, covering about 75.000 miles (120.700 km) of highway.

A $1 trillion infrastructure bill released in November 2021 provides $5 billion to help states install EV chargers along interstate highways over five years. "States now also have access to more than $1.5 billion to help build EV chargers," the USDOT said. The White House announced earlier this month it had approved 35 of the state's 50 plans.

The USDOT Federal Highway Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many filling stations the fund would support.

"We're not going to dictate to the states how to do this, but we need to make sure they meet basic standards," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this year.

The USDOT says states should fund DC Fast Chargers where stations must have at least four ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs and install EV charging infrastructure every 50 miles (80.5 km) along interstate highways and located within a short distance 1 mile from the highway.

Federal funds will cover 80% of the cost of charging the EV, with private or state funds balancing.

By 2030, President Joe Biden wants 50% of all new vehicles sold in the US to be hybrid or plug-in electric models and 500.000 new EV charging stations. But he has yet to support stopping the planned sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

The California Air Resources Board voted in August to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be electric hybrid or plug-in electric cars. This is considered an important step that could accelerate the end of gasoline-powered vehicles but still has to be approved by Biden before it can take effect.

California will allow automakers to sell up to 20% of the 2035 model as plug-in hybrid cars.