Legislation has been introduced in the House to fast-track deployment of electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid technologies.
The innovative bill authorizes the Dept of Energy to competitively award up to $300 million each to 10 communities around the country, which would then serve as domestic hubs for EV manufacturing and deployment.
The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act, introduced by House Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) would provide grants to:
- offer incentives for people who purchase EVs,
- promote utility modernization to accommodate EV deployment
- provides assistance for installating charging infrastructure
- encourage domestic production of EV components.
The 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 EV charging equipment for individuals (up to $2,000) or businesses (up to $50,000 for multiple equipment purchases).
Lastly, 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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