North Carolina leading the way in EV initiatives
Electric vehicle manufacturers are ramping up production to meet the federal government’s 2030 deadline.
NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Electric vehicle manufacturers are ramping up production to meet the federal government’s 2030 deadline. By then, half of all new vehicles sold in the United States will have to be zero emissions.
While the diligent work continues in the background around the nation, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has embarked on a journey to make this technology more attainable and accessible to all.
Green is everywhere in North Carolina, but it’s green energy that has officials with the NCDOT excited about the future of electric vehicles.
NCDOT Statewide Initiatives Supervisor Heather Hildebrandt said the department has been working tirelessly to get their plan on the road.
“We began tracking registration of zero-emission vehicles and we’re glad to say that we’ve actually surpassed our 80,000 target a year early,” Hildebrandt told WCNC Charlotte’s Colin Mayfield.
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$109 million is funneled through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, or NEVI, which has helped the state pinpoint when charging occurs and where it would be most beneficial for drivers.
” We are building 36 or 37 total fast chargers and these chargers are capable of charging four vehicles simultaneously at 150 kilowatts,” Hildebrandt said.
North Carolina is building out corridors along the busiest routes, making in and out-of-state travel easier for everyone. Chargers will be built every 50 miles and within a mile of a highway along almost 4,000 miles of alternative fuel corridors and within a mile of a highway.
“One of our major goals for our program is to make sure new technology, like electric vehicles, are accessible to anyone,” Hildebrandt said.
Hildebrandt said their research shows that EV owners are primarily people who own their own homes and have access to charging either at home or at work. This makes the technology easier to adopt and less expensive and NCDOT hopes this continues around the state.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
