Paul Berger of The Wall Street Journal explains that the Biden administration envisions a phased-in nationwide rollout of electric-charging and hydrogen fueling stations for heavy-duty trucks, but who is going to pay? Berger writes:
A new federal initiative aims to speed up and better coordinate the rollout of charging and refueling stations for zero-emission big rigs. Industry officials say questions over how much the buildout will cost or who will pick up the tab still need to be resolved.
The Biden administration this week released the strategy laying out where and when battery-electric charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure will be needed to support a new generation of truck fleets. Administration officials foresee the infrastructure growing rapidly at first around major freight hubs, then expanding into a national fueling network by 2040.
Trucking and charging-provider executives say the phased strategy will help as they plan the needed infrastructure and should help local governments and utilities prioritize investments.
But some industry groups say the strategy lacks crucial details needed to bring certainty to operators looking to transition their fleets. “The next thing that needs to come out of this is who’s going to pay for all of this?” […]
“The value-add for us is the participation [of the federal government] and actually having federal policy to support this, especially during the course of the next two, three, four years even,” he said.
Read more here.
Infrastructure and Power Needed
