Written by Michael Thompson.
Imagine you’re on a cross-country trip in your electric car. You’re cruising through scenic routes and bustling cities. Suddenly, your battery starts to run low, but there’s no need to worry! Convenient charging stations are sprinkled across the highways, ready to power any electric vehicle you drive.
How much would this convenience cost? Maybe $19.99? These charging stations also come with small shops where you can grab a snack or a coffee while waiting. Does $29.99 or even $49.99 seem reasonable?
But hold on, there’s more! Someday, these charging stations might cover our nation’s highways, serving fleets of electric vehicles. This vision, however, hinges on a few uncertainties, including whether these stations will always be operational. What if they cost a whopping billion dollars each?
The Cost of Convenience
President Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure law aimed to create a network of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. This plan included $7.5 billion in subsidies. However, progress has been slow. Back in December, there were no stations built yet. Just eleven days later, one station finally opened in London, Ohio, but it didn’t see much use.
Fast forward five months, and now there are seven stations across four states. That’s about one billion dollars per station. While the real cost isn’t exactly this high, my rough averaging is less absurd than Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
By my calculations, building seven stations every two years means we’ll reach the goal of 500,000 stations by the year 144,881 AD. Suddenly, 2030 feels very far away.
The Real Challenges
The slow rollout has several causes. According to Oil Price, factors like higher standards for new EV chargers, which must have 97% operational reliability, 150kW power, and be close to highways, have contributed to delays. Additionally, there are challenges with permits and power demands.
Electricity, it turns out, doesn’t magically appear in charging cables. We need significant infrastructure to support these stations.
I apologize for the exaggerated format earlier. It’s a habit from growing up with Ronco ads in the ’70s, promising the world for just three easy payments of $19.99. Unlike Ron Popeil, who delivered on his promises, Biden’s plans haven’t quite hit the mark. We’ve ended up with inflation and, if we’re being honest, just seven billion-dollar EV charging stations.
Our Take
The slow progress on the EV charging stations highlights the inefficiency of large government projects. Promises made often fall short, leaving taxpayers with little to show for their money. The delays and high costs reflect a lack of practical planning and execution. For a truly effective solution, we need a more streamlined and accountable approach to infrastructure development.
