Inflation Reduction Act money is rolling out and beginning to fund projects.
Key Details
- President Joe Biden has announced the first round of funding for the EV-charging network across 35 different states.
- The newly passed Inflation Reduction Act was created to allocate billions in funds for clean energy. Of those funds, $7.5 billion was set out to build a nationwide EV-charging network, which will include around 500,000 charging stations.
- Last week, President Biden announced where the first round of money is heading.
Why it’s important
Last month, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act that will invest billions into clean energy including tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs).
The bill’s focus on EVs and the $7.5 billion allocated to build a nationwide EV-charging network is good considering the number of people wanting EVs has hit a worldwide tipping point.
The latest EY Mobility Consumer Index shows that 52% of people looking to buy a car want to buy an EV. This is the first time the number has exceeded 50%, representing a rise of 11 percentage points since last year.
This money will help solve one of the biggest issues EV drivers face—not enough charging stations. Now that states are beginning to get the funds the chargers can start being built.
The new EV charging stations are planned to be built all along the National Highway System and span 53,000 miles.
This funding should be good for companies in the EV-charging industry. Some of the big players are Plug Power, ChargePoint, and Blink Charging. These stocks have performed well lately, despite the recent weakness in the overall market, according to analyst Matt McCall.