Four federal legislators, including Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey, D-7th, today introduced legislation designed to fast track the deployment of energy-saving electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid technologies.
The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act will provide grants to help regional communities establish themselves as models for the successful development, installation, and deployment of advanced electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, including public charging stations.? The bill also offers consumer incentives for the purchase of EVs, promotes utility modernization to accommodate EV deployment, provides assistance for the installation of charging infrastructure, and encourages domestic production of EV components.
“As America experiences the rise and fall of gas prices alongside the rise and fall of al Qaeda leadership and other Middle Eastern despots, it is time to tell the oil sheiks funding terror networks that America needs their oil as much as we need their sand,” said Markey, Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee and senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.? “The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act will help the nation get off foreign oil and move forward with a comprehensive strategy that helps consumers buy all-electric vehicles powered by wind farms in the northeast and midwest instead of oil from the Middle East.? It’s time for America to start driving toward a clean, safe energy future, and electric vehicles can help power the way.”
The bill authorizes the Secretary of Energy to competitively award up to $300 million to each of 10 different deployment communities around the country.? These communities will then serve as domestic hubs for EV manufacturing and deployment, as well as proving grounds for best practices.
The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act guarantees a consumer benefit of at least $2,000 (beyond existing tax credits or other federal and local incentives) for the first 50,000 EV consumers within each deployment community.? In addition, it extends to 2014 federal tax credits for the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment for individuals (up to $2,000) or businesses (up to $50,000 for multiple equipment purchases). Finally, the bill authorizes additional development, deployment and manufacturing incentives for EV technologies, including bond authority and a limited number of smaller grants for municipalities not selected as deployment communities.
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