Manchin not so excited for EVs

Source: BY MATTHEW CHOI, Politico • Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed skepticism at investing major federal bucks into electric vehicle infrastructure, as Biden’s plan proposes.

“I don’t remember Henry Ford — when he built the Model T — that we went out and built filling stations for him,” Manchin told reporters, including our Anthony Adragna. “We should give them incentives and help them mature it. We’re willing to do it, but it shouldn’t cost as far as the debt to the nation.”

As a refresher, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week that the federal government would likely only cover the costs of charging stations in areas that don’t have the means to do so — particularly in rural communities.

And during the ARPA-E Innovation Summit on Tuesday, Buttigieg stressed the need for partnerships between the private sector, public sector and academia in both advancing technologies and bringing them to scale. He brought up federal investment in commercial aviation as an example of a successful public-private technology partnership.