Elaborating on one of the clean energy goals in President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech – for the US to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 – Vice President Biden outlined a series of new initiatives to help get us there.
"We’re not just creating new green jobs but sparking whole new industries that will ensure our competitiveness for decades to come – industries like electric vehicle manufacturing," he said.
Biden said the Administration’s proposed budget will increase funding for advanced vehicle technologies by almost 90% to nearly $590 million, while also enhancing existing tax incentives for people that buy them.
And in keeping with the President’s pledge to double the number of DOE "energy innovation hubs," the Administration plans to create a new hub devoted to improving batteries and energy storage for vehicles.
Whether this funding can make it through this spending cut-oriented Congress has yet to be seen.
The Initiatives:
– making electric vehicles more affordable by changing the current $7,500 tax credit into a rebate. This would benefit consumers at the point of sale, similar to the "Cash for Clunkers" program, rather than waiting for a tax credit.
– increased R&D funding for innovative vehicle and battery technologies such as batteries and electric drives;
– rewarding communities for leadership in reducing regulatory barriers and developing comprehensive electric vehicle-friendly infrastructure.
To support this initiative, DOE is launching a competitive program to help communities across the country become early EV adopters through regulatory streamlining, infrastructure investments, vehicle fleet conversions, deployment of EV incentives, and workforce training.
Up to 30 communities across the country would receive grants of up to $10 million each based on their ability to demonstrate concrete reforms and use the funds to help catalyze EV deployment.
These initiatives build on those in the Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill), which is helping to cut battery costs in half and make the US a global leader in advanced battery production. It also supports infrastructure deployment for advanced technology vehicles. The General Services Administration is purchasing 100 plug-in hybrids to be delivered this year along with 40,000 alternative-fueled and fuel-efficient vehicles that will replace less-efficient vehicles at federal agencies.
See the DOE press release:
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