Latest news with #ElectricVehicleInfrastructure
New Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Judge orders Trump administration to release billions in EV charging funds
LOS ANGELES, United States: A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release billions allocated for the construction of electric vehicle charging stations in over a dozen US states. In a ruling Tuesday, US District Judge Tana Lin granted a preliminary injunction to require distribution of funds for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) development, which allotted US$5 billion for use from 2022 to 2026. Signed into law by former president Joe Biden in 2021, the Trump administration's Department of Transportation defunded NEVI in February, axing expected funding for 16 states and the District of Columbia. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called climate change a "hoax," abandoned electric vehicle booster programmes and campaigned to drill for oil extensively. Trump has also blocked California's plan to ban internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Seventeen attorneys general sued the Trump administration to unfreeze funds in May, led by California, the state with the largest number of electric vehicles. "It is no secret that the Trump Administration is beholden to the fossil fuel agenda," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, adding legal programmes can't be dismantled "just so that the President's Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits." "We are pleased with today's order blocking the Administration's unconstitutional attempt to do so, and California looks forward to continuing to vigorously defend itself from this executive branch overreach," the Democrat added. The Trump administration has until July 2 to appeal or release funds under Lin's order, which applies to Washington, Colorado, California, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. Federal transportation and justice officials did not immediately indicate whether they intend to appeal.
E&E News
19 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Judge orders Trump admin to reinstate EV charging funds
A federal judge ordered the Transportation Department to restore billions of dollars in electric vehicle charging funds to 14 states, saying the Trump administration 'pulled the rug out from under them' when it blocked distribution of the funds. The preliminary injunction, released Tuesday by District Judge Tana Lin in the Western District of Washington, is likely to be appealed, but it was celebrated as a win by the states that sued the administration over its handling of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan. 'The administration cannot dismiss programs illegally, like the bipartisan Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, just so that the President's Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits,' California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement. Advertisement DOT didn't respond to a request for comment, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has defended the decision to block funding for the program.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
Uber drivers are now more concerned about charging than EV cost
Advertisement Uber does have an ace up its sleeve in mitigating this issue. Last year, the company hired Rebecca Tinucci, the former head of charging infrastructure at Tesla Inc., to oversee its electrification efforts. Nine months into the job, she's brokered a partnership the company expects will improve charging access for 55,000 drivers in London, Boston, and Phoenix, and is rolling out a tool to help 40 cities decide on where to locate their next public plugs. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We've got to get to work,' Tinucci said in an interview. 'As comfortable as I am in the charging space, I fully recognize how difficult it is to do charging well.' Uber is partnering with London, Boston and Phoenix as part of C40 Cities, a group affiliated with Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. Advertisement In addition to contributing technical support, research and policy advocacy to those three cities, the company is launching what it calls an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Estimator tool that will project future demand for EV charging from Uber drivers. The company is rolling out the service to cities covering almost 60 percent of EV drivers on the Uber platform. The tool is more than just in Uber's self-interest. The name of the game for charging-station operators is driving high utilization. Drivers doing pickups and drop-offs around the clock are just the sort of customer operators are looking for. 'There's an incredible base of demand there that we at Uber should be able to rally in support of developing more infrastructure,' Tinucci said. Uber already has seen this play out. Three years ago, the company invested £5 million ($6.73 million) toward installing 700 EV chargers across north and east London. Its chargers in the borough of Newham are being used at more than twice the national average rate. 'The challenge at Tesla was kind of single-focused around Tesla vehicles,' Tinucci said of her previous role. 'What brought me to Uber was the potential for impact. We have the largest EV fleet in the world, and we're just getting started.'
