Analysis of Biden’s Infrastructure Plan

Photo by Adam Schultz / Biden for President

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President Biden finally held his first official press conference last Thursday, March 25th, wherein he addressed his $2.2 trillion infrastructure bill, albeit from a high level that was light on details. What we do know is that the legislation will include $174 billion dedicated specifically to incentivizing EV manufacturing, the building of charging networks, tax credits for EV purchasers, and the development of alternative fuel technologies. The goal, Biden says, is to have a minimum of 500,000 EV charging stations installed across the country by 2030.

While the cause is noble, CNBC reporter Michael Wayland notes that government support alone may be insufficient to build the infrastructure necessary to spur such an electric revolution, especially in less than a decade. He cites concerns about lagging EV adoption and an analysis by New York-based consulting firm AlixPartners that highlights the high costs of some chargers. (See that full article here: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/31/us-ev-charging-system-a-priority-under-bidens-2-trillion-infrastructure-plan.html.)

We agree that it will take more than government support alone to accomplish the goal of an all-electric future. It will take a commitment from manufacturers to create safe, well-designed, well-appointed vehicles in a variety of styles that will attract customers. It will take a coordinated effort to educate consumers on the economic and environmental value of purchasing an EV. It will take researchers and engineers creating new technology that make greater levels of sustainability achievable and affordable. And it will take companies like EVCS with the skill and expertise to execute a vertically integrated charging network at scale.

In short, it takes a village. However, we also believe this initial investment will serve as a catalyst to greater EV adoption by helping make chargers more pervasive and thereby reducing most consumers’ biggest reluctance: convenient access to power when away from home. As more charging stations go up, so will EV purchases. The cycle will then result in more chargers still to address the growing number of EVs on the road, which will then prompt further EV purchases, and so forth, with the increase in supply ultimately driving down costs across the board.

As the EV market becomes more economically viable, government subsidization will become less necessary. Private enterprises will start investing their own capital in charging infrastructure as it becomes apparent that demand is rising. And while higher-powered chargers like DCFCs (which can fill a typical EV battery to 80% in as little as 20 minutes) may cost more now, the investment will pay dividends by addressing the needs of Americans who are always on the go. Mass EV adoption and improved technology over time will subsequently lead to manufacturing more DCFCs at cheaper prices.

Biden’s plan also includes replacing 50,000 diesel transit vehicles with EVs and electrifying at least 20% of the country’s school buses, which will require many dedicated charging stations to ensure a seamless transition. Furthermore, while companies like Ford, GM and Volkswagen are starting to invest heavily in EV development, they seem to have little interest in building and operating their own charging networks (unlike Tesla), instead leaving it to more experienced entities like EVCS.

We are in a particularly enviable position here, having cut our teeth servicing the most lucrative and demanding EV market in the US. We understand the needs of site owners, drivers and carmakers. We know the assessment, permitting, trenching and installation process inside out, which means significant time and cost savings. We can offer a complete turnkey solution to states and municipalities that receive a share of this federal payout, with charging sites tailored specifically to the needs of each community. For instance, tourist destinations will likely want charging banks at high-traffic points of interest while mining towns may need them near industrial work sites.

Bottom line, wherever this new infrastructure spending takes us, we have the tools and talent to help lay the groundwork for achieving the administration’s goals.

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The Race to Democratize Charging Infrastructure

According to McKinsey & Company, “As the number of EVs on the road increases, annual demand for electricity to charge them would surge from 11 billion kWh now to 230 billion kWh in 2030… Modeling indicates that nearly 30 million chargers would be needed to deliver so much electricity in that year. While most of these chargers would be installed at residences, 1.2 million would [need to] be public chargers.” More importantly, these public chargers must be targeted to drivers of all ages, genders, races, cultures, income levels and geographic segments. As such, EVCS has identified three primary areas necessary to increasing the democratization of charging infrastructure:

Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.