Oregon’s Plan to Attract More Drivers to Purchase Electric Vehicles Approved

Oregon has a plan to get more drivers to buy electric vehicles and it has been approved by the federal government.

KOIN reported that the state has plans to add hundreds of chargers for electric vehicles across highways.

The outlet noted the state will not be able to begin the project until next year.

The goal of the plan is to have chargers every 50 miles.

The plan is reportedly a part of a $100 million program involving both state and federal money.

“We’re trying to address a little bit of this chicken and the egg. What comes first? Do people have the cars or is the charging available? We know that charging is key to people gaining confidence that an electric vehicle is something that can work for them,” Amanda Pietz, an administrator at ODOT, told KOIN.

The outlet explained the state’s department of transportation will invest $36 million while the federal government will invest another $65 million over the next five years.

Additionally, the Federal Infrastructure Act will provide the state with almost $20 million more.

It will be roughly seven or eight years before the project is completed.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced the first round of funding for a network of charges for electric vehicles nationwide.

“I’m pleased to announce that we’re approving funding for the first 35 states, including Michigan, to build their own charging infrastructure throughout their state,” Biden said at the Detroit Auto Show.

The president mentioned his administration’s investment in the electric vehicle industry.

“It used to be that to buy an electric car you had to make all sorts of compromises, not today,” Biden said.

He added, “Look, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified, whether you’re driving coast to coast along I-10 or on I-75 here in Michigan, charging stations will be up and easy to find as easy as they are now.”