Energy Literacy Advocates Newsroom

Energy Dept. awards money for electric cars

Nov 4, 2009

USA Today

Katharine Lackey

The federal government and some states are plugging into the future of electric cars with subsidies to develop charging stations. But their plans are generating opposition.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.4 billion in stimulus money in August to build electric vehicles and support them with charging stations. The goal is to promote clean energy and reduce U.S. dependence on oil, says David Sandalow, assistant secretary of Energy for policy and international affairs.

The largest of 48 approved projects — out of 250 proposals for stimulus grants— is with Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (eTec), which signed a $99.8 million contract with the Energy Department last month. Some of the money will pay for charging stations in 11 cities in five states by 2011, according to Colin Read, vice president of corporate development for Ecotality, eTec's parent company.

The cities are Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis in Oregon; Seattle; San Diego; Phoenix and Tucson; and Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee.

Nissan is partnering with Ecotality on its project and will make 4,700 additional Nissan Leafs available in 11 cities by working with dealerships, Read says. The Nissan Leaf, expected to be released late next year, is an all-electric vehicle capable of getting 100 miles on a single charge, Read says.

In addition, Chrysler, General Motors and Ford received DOE grants, ranging from $30 million to $70 million, to manufacture plug-in hybrids and electric cars, according to the Energy Department.

The projects come when there are only about 1,000 plug-in hybrids on the road today, and major auto companies do not plan to release their plug-in or fully electric models for another year, says Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit organization that conducts research about the generation, delivery and use of electricity.

Opposing views

Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with more than 1 million members, says the government should not spend taxpayers' dollars to push a technology but should let the private sector develop it.

"Why is the government picking and choosing which type of technology will be best for the country?" Schatz asks. "Maybe someone will come up with another idea."

A report released in October by the National Research Council — a non-profit government-charted agency — questioned whether electric and plug-in vehicles' impacts are better or worse than conventional gasoline vehicles, mainly because about half of the energy supplied to the electricity grid comes from coal plants, "which contribute to air pollution" said Dan Greenbaum, a member of the committee that wrote the report and CEO of the Health Effects Institute in Boston.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a frequent critic of what he calls excessive government spending, says it would be better to let the marketplace decide whether technologies such as electric cars will prevail.

"I don't think the federal government does a very good job of picking winners and losers," he said, referring to the government's effort to fund various renewable energy programs.

Charging ahead

Charles Territo, senior director of communication at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an advocacy group for the auto industry, says having charging stations in place could help entice consumers to purchase an electric car. Sandalow says the stations could mean the difference between establishing a strong electric car industry in the USA vs. letting another country take over production.

Schatz says government spending on charging stations won't entice consumers to spend the extra money the vehicles will cost — at least 10% more than their gas counterparts — especially in a down economy.

Prices for electric and plug-in models hitting the road in 2010 have not been officially released.

Other areas exploring the future of electric cars include:

Virginia: The state Department of Transportation has partnered with Dominion Virginia Power to install an electric car charging station at the New Kent rest area on Interstate 64 that will be capable of charging four vehicles, says Jeff Caldwell, VDOT's chief of communication.

Ashland, Ore.: The city plans to install four charging stations even though it wasn't selected to receive stimulus funds, says Electric Department Director Dick Wanderscheid.

New England: Northeast Utilities, which serves New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and Connecticut, plans to begin to install stations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, using its own funds, in public and workplace locations within six months, spokesman Al Lara says.