Biden Administration ‘Full Steam Ahead’ With Electric Vehicle Integration Despite Potential Issues

Katie SpenceAugust 4, 2022

Thanks to the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there’s more than $60 billion available for grid transportation investment.

Plus, $5 billion is earmarked for state grants to help establish high-capacity charging stations on every highway in the United States, and an additional $2 billion for community charging.

The hope, according to Alex Schroeder, executive lead at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, is to eliminate range anxiety and change consumer behavior when it comes to buying vehicles.

That will help facilitate a rapid transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EV), Schroeder said.

The supply of power to charge Electric Vehicles may be more than states, like Montana, can supply at the moment. (Shutterstock)

However, at a panel discussion at the 2022 Nation Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) on the “Promise and Challenges of Electric Vehicles,” State Rep. Steven Galloway (R-Mont.) pointed out potential issues.

“Lifecycle the batteries, seven to 10 years. What are we gonna do? Talking to the recyclers, it’s a big issue.”

Galloway stated that currently, 100 percent of ICE vehicles are recycled. But the same isn’t true for electric vehicles (EVs).

“Right now, most [EVs] are just piling up and nobody wants to touch them. It’s causing fires at home, you know, there are different issues that really aren’t publicized.”

Galloway also said that in Montana, there’s not enough wind or solar to provide energy for the type of integration the federal government is planning.

He said that it gets frigid in Montana, and cold significantly impacts battery life. He wanted to know what solutions if any, the federal government had for these problems.

End-Market Use

State Sen. Faith Winter (D-Colo.), a panelist for the session, responded that in her state, legislators were starting to look at end-market use for EVs.