California just made a big bet on the future of electric vehicles

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Anna Phillips | Washington Post

California is embarking on a major expansion of its electric vehicle charging system, an effort to dramatically increase the number of places for drivers to plug in at a time when EV sales are growing faster than the country’s charging network.

The California Energy Commission, the state agency that oversees energy policy, approved a $1.4 billion plan Wednesday that regulators said would result in nearly 17,000 new chargers for passenger vehicles statewide, adding to the more than 152,000 public and private chargers available today. The money will be spent over the next four years. In a news release, state regulators said least 50 percent of the funds would go to parts of the state that bear a disproportionate share of pollution, such as communities near major highways, oil refineries and landfills.

“The plan prioritizes clean air benefits in low-income and disadvantaged communities that need it the most,” Patty Monahan, the lead commissioner for transportation, said in a statement. Electric vehicles, she said, “are here to stay in the Golden State.”

Nationwide, there are far more electric cars on the road than chargers. Between 2016 and 2023, EV registrations in the United States grew almost three times as fast as public charging infrastructure. In 2016, there wereseven electric cars for each public charging point. Today, there are more than 20 electric cars per charger - something that advocates fear is hampering demand.

Almost 1.2 million all-electric cars were sold in the United States last year, a national record that accounted for more than 7 percent of total new-car sales.

California’s initiative builds on previous state spending on public charging, as well as a number of state rules that aim to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by eventually banning the sale of gas- and diesel-burning cars and trucks. State officials say they expect to reach 250,000 chargers in the next few years. Today, most of the EV chargers in the state, some 500,000, are installed in private homes.

The move comes at a time when Donald Trump’s return to the White House is fueling uncertainty about the future of America’s shift to electric vehicles.

Throughout the presidential campaign, Trump frequently attacked the Biden administration’s climate policies and support for decarbonizing transportation by shifting to EVs. His transition team is looking at rolling back President Joe Biden’s stricter vehicle fuel efficiency standards and eliminating the tax credits for EV buyers in Biden’s signature climate law. Without these credits, which can be as high as $7,500 for new electric cars and up to $4,000 for used models, EVs sales could fall.

Biden’s multibillion-dollar program to buy electric vehicles and chargers for the U.S. Postal Service may also be at risk - a potential victim of the incoming administration’s desire to slash federal spending.

Since the election, California has offered a counternarrative to assure automakers and EV drivers of its commitment to electrification. Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced that the state would revive its own buyer-assistance program if Republicans eliminate the federal EV subsidy.

“We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future - we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute,” Newsom said in a statement.

The lack of chargers has frustrated both EV drivers and people in low-income communities who fear that their neighborhoods are being left behind in the transition. Electric vehicle advocates call these places charging deserts - and they are most apparent in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in big cities, where electric vehicles are scarce.

Advocates say these neighborhoods need more public chargers to persuade residents who lack driveways or garages to buy electric vehicles. But without EVs in place, there is no commercial incentive to install them.

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