Amid new legislation to boost electric-vehicle (EV) sales, charging companies face issues.
Key details
The soon-to-be passed climate and tax bill incentivizes buying EV chargers, benefiting companies that build or install them. Nevertheless, permitting, location, and supply issues remain and the rollout of these important components to EVs will be slowed.
Charging manufactures have been faced with significant supply-chain shortages, especially for computer chips, slowing down production.
“It’s fair to say that customers have had to wait and then there’s been some delays in putting these in the ground,” said Mike Calise, president of charging maker Tritium DCFC.
Why it’s news
The Biden administration wants 500,000 public chargers by 2030, but McKinsey & Co. estimates that as many as 1.2 million are needed. As of right now, the U.S. has around 124,000 chargers for public use, most of which take several hours to repower a car, according to government data.
Manufacturers and charging providers have already lined up to grab a share of the billions of dollars previously committed by Congress under an infrastructure bill passed last year. Some executives say it will be a race to make and install enough chargers to meet rising demand for electric vehicles as many automakers’ new EV fleets will hit the road around 2025, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Backing up a bit
The Inflation Reduction Act includes a roughly $370 billion investment in climate, and It is expected that The House of Representatives will vote on it today. Budget estimators expect around $1.7 billion in tax credits for chargers or other alternative-fuels equipment to be claimed over a 10-year period.
The climate, tax and healthcare legislation would boost the maximum potential tax credits of 30% for construction of charging stations to $100,000 a charger, up from $30,000 a site currently, and would extend the program by a decade. Fast-charging unit installations typically cost upward of $100,000 each, and might entail tearing up pavement to lay conduit, says The Wall Street Journal.
What’s not being said
There are limitations to the legislation. The credits would not cover charging installation in wealthier areas defined by certain Census tract poverty rates. Individuals could also get a credit of 30% of the installed cost of charging equipment, maxing out at $1,000, regardless of their community wealth level.
