US Expands Electric-Vehicle Charging Networks to 48 to Cover 35 States

Electric vehicles (EV) will take the forefront of recent White House developments as about 35 U.S. states will reap the benefits of new EV charging networks.

According to tReuters, the Obama administration will work together with big auto companies such as General Motors Co., BMW AG, and Nissan Motor Co. to jumpstart additional electric-vehicle charging networks across 25,000 miles of highways in the said states.

This is in active response to a 2015 highway law established last December. Drivers will now be able to find existing and planned charging stations every 50 miles with the help of new roadside signs. Local governments will also purchase hundreds of new vehicles for government use, alongside the construction of more charging stations.

For instance, California plans to purchase at least 150 zero-emission vehicles and provide EV charging among five percent of state-owned parking spaces by 2020.

Atlanta will add 300 charging stations by the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport next year. While Los Angeles agreed to even triple their government electric-vehicle count from 200 to at least 555.

According to CTV News, this grows the number of existing charging networks in the U.S. from 500 in 2008 to more than 16,000 after the project is finished. The project will also help EV drivers to recharge their vehicles, given the growing popularity of the venture.

The U.S. Energy Department has issued a notice that EV facilities are an eligible technology for its $4.5-billion loan program, although there were no loans made as of last week.

The White House hopes this can boost EV sales, as they have fallen below President Barack Obama's goal of one million by last year. Only 520,000 EVs have been sold in the U.S. since 2008 compared with about 250-million gas-powered vehicles in the country.

Regardless, this is a good step towards the United States' energy dependence scheme, which has taken a slow step because of the ongoing presidential elections.