OPINION:
The administration is having a tough time deploying the electric vehicle chargers President Biden promised. Americans seeking to upgrade their reliable, gas-powered pickup trucks and SUVs are just not buying the new-fangled electric alternatives because, among other things, there’s nowhere to plug them in.
A brand-new McKinsey consumer survey confirmed the inconvenience is driving 46% of current EV owners to want to go back to internal combustion. Mr. Biden saw this coming and allocated $7.5 billion for the construction of 500,000 charging stations way back in 2021. So far, seven stations have been completed.
During an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg struggled to come up with a plausible explanation for falling short. “Now, in order to do a charger,” said Mr. Buttigieg, “it’s more than just plugging a small device into the ground. There’s utility work, and this is also really a new category of federal investment.”
That’s the problem, Mr. Secretary. How can Americans possibly have confidence in the green credentials of their personal transportation devices if they are plugged into a utility grid that might be powered by diesel generators, gas turbines or, worse, coal?
According to the Energy Information Administration, 79% of America’s electricity is generated by fossil fuels or nuclear power. There’s less than a 15% chance any given EV charger’s juice comes from windmills and solar panels — the only power sources approved by Greta Thunberg.
Congress ought to do something about this by requiring every federally funded EV charging station be solely powered by the sun or the wind. This would eliminate the apparently insurmountable infrastructure hurdle of utility work. Solar panels and windmills could instead be located on site, allowing discerning EV drivers to watch the virtue flowing directly into their cars.
EV owners would see for themselves just how reliable their favorite power sources can be as they wait to add a few percentage points to their battery before resuming their journey.
Lawmakers should also consider pausing EV tax credits and related grant programs until the industry can demonstrate the entire chain from the EV factory to the charging station is truly green — that is, powered by locally sourced windmills and solar panels.
Otherwise, EVs aren’t serving their true purpose of saving the planet. While it may seem regressive to some, this proposal wouldn’t impact the sale of cutting-edge EV technology. A study released this month by the Energy Institute at the University of California, Berkeley confirms the average EV buyer is so wealthy that handouts aren’t necessary.
Economists reviewed the impact of the $47 billion government giveaway for various green priorities like solar panels and EVs between 2006 and 2021. They found the most privileged Americans have been the ones cashing $7,500 checks from Uncle Sam after adding a Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt or Chevy Bolt to their four-car garage.
“The most extreme is the tax credit for electric vehicles, for which the top quintile has received more than 80% of all credits,” the Berkeley researchers concluded. “The concentration of tax credits among high-income filers is relatively constant over time, though we do find a slight broadening for the electric vehicle credit since 2018.”
So, for the sake of America’s wealthiest, Congress must adopt this modest green energy proposal.
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