The Infrastructure Bill, Tax Refunds for Used EVs, and a Look at How Much an Electrified Fleet Could Save in Terms of Money and on the Health of Communities
This week we are focusing on the latest EV buzz going around Capitol Hill–namely the passing of the Infrastructure Bill in the US Senate. So, what does it mean for electric vehicles? Let’s get into it!
Infrastructure Bill
Unless you’ve been offline and unreachable this week, you’ve probably heard that the US Senate passed the trillion dollar infrastructure bill. Among the extensive outline of funding for public infrastructure, climate change, and more, there's some pretty noteworthy legislation to support EV infrastructure.
Here’s a brief look at the EV sections:
- $7.5 billion will be allocated to the first-ever federal investment in a nationwide charging network for electric vehicles.
What this means: This will help increase accessibility and usability of EVs, ensuring there’s the infrastructure in place for longer-haul trips.
- $2.5 billion for zero-emission buses.
What this means: Although busses aren’t the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, public adoption of EVs is a big step forward towards larger adoption of electric vehicles. Plus, as we’ll get into shortly, cities in the US could save 63% on diesel costs by switching to an electrified bus fleet.
Interested in pouring through all 2,702 pages of the bill? Check it out here.
Affordable EVs for Working Families Act
In an effort to increase use and accessibility of electric vehicles, legislators have proposed a bill that would create a tax rebate for purchases of used electric vehicles. There already exists an EV tax credit for new cars, but this would make it even easier to trade in your ICE vehicle for an EV.
There are some strings - dealerships can’t receive the credit, and there are upper limits on income for those who can receive the credit as well. Vehicles also must be two or more years old - which, at the moment, can be prohibitive: there aren’t a whole lot of old EVs on the road. But hopefully, if this bill goes into law, individuals and families who aren’t currently able to afford an EV may be able to in the near future. Combined with the savings on gas, a couple-thousand more dollars in the pockets of working families could be enough incentive to switch from ICE to EV.
This proposed bill is a nice little (quite little) incentive for EV adoption - something is better than nothing, right?
Electrified Fleets Could Save 37- 44% in Energy Costs
In an extensive research report, AMPLY Power detailed the cost savings that the top 25 largest metro areas in the United States could experience by shifting from ICE vehicles to electrified vehicles. In addition to savings on fuel, AMPLY Power examined the cost of health and environmental impacts that can be avoided with fleet electrification as well. The report claims that “for each 15-vehicle fleet that is electrified, AMPLY has uncovered that up to two million kilograms of CO2 emissions can be avoided.”
Here is a quick overview of what the report found would be possible if the US makes a transition to EVs by 2050:
- 1.3 million ton reduction of NOx atmospheric pollutants
- 93,000 asthma attacks avoided
- 416,000 fewer work days lost
- 6,300 lives saved
While avoiding the addition of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere doesn’t directly impact the cost of running vehicles, this environmental benefit can help communities reduce the amount spent on allergy and asthma treatment - these health benefits were calculated in the report. They stated that overall, electrifying fleets in the 25 cities studied has “the potential of avoiding $72 billion in adverse health effects."
Check out the full report that examines the potential health, environmental, and economic benefits of electrifying vehicle fleets here.
