by Brianna Crandall — August 19, 2016 — The U.S. federal government and partners recently took actions to promote the use of electric vehicles, highlighted below, according to a summary report from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Public/private collaboration
The Obama administration announced a set of actions from the federal government, private sector, and states, as well as a new framework for collaboration for vehicle manufacturers, electric utilities, electric vehicle charging companies, and states, to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and put more EVs on the road.
Forged by the White House in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Air Force and the Army, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the collaboration is centered on a set of guiding principles signed by nearly 50 organizations. The actions include:
- Unlocking up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees and inviting applications to support the commercial-scale deployment of innovative EV charging facilities.
- Launching the FAST Act process to identify zero emission and alternative fuel corridors, including for EV charging across the country.
- Leveraging the power of data and hosting an “Electric Vehicle Hackathon” to discover insights and develop new solutions for EV charging.
See the DOE Fact Sheet for more information.
DOE/APPA partnership
In addition, the Energy Department and the American Public Power Association (APPA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) ensuring collaborative efforts to electrify personal and fleet transportation in public power communities throughout the United States. This partnership builds on the president’s goal and DOE’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge to develop plug-in electric vehicles by 2022 that are as affordable as a 2012 gasoline-powered vehicle.
The MOU advances mutual interests to increase the economic, environmental, and national security benefits of using electricity as a transportation fuel and expanding the EV market by bringing utilities directly into the fold.
Through this agreement, DOE and APPA will pursue collaborative efforts to advance EV adoption and charging infrastructure deployment for private vehicles, commercial fleets, transportation for passengers and commerce, and other efforts that will help displace petroleum with grid-sourced electricity as a transportation fuel.
APPA represents not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities that power homes, businesses and streets in nearly 2,000 towns and cities, serving 48 million customers.
