In its quest to get a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, Illinois was counting on $148 million in federal funding to help build a statewide network of public EV chargers. [emphasis, links added]
Now that funding has been frozen — and targeted for possible reduction or elimination — under a wide-ranging executive order that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office.
Also in limbo: another federal program that was to provide Illinois with millions of dollars for public EV chargers. …
EVs and their chargers appear to be a prime target of Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, but they are by no means the only Illinois clean energy projects that could be in for a bumpy ride as the president takes bold steps to reverse the ambitious clean energy policies of his predecessor.
The executive order pauses funds coming from President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, including incentives for solar and wind projects and a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for EV buyers.
The executive order also targets the opportunity for states to adopt California-style vehicle emissions rules that exceed national standards, an approach that Illinois is currently considering.
The executive order sets up a 90-day review period for clean energy projects funded under the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, after which agency heads will submit recommendations. …
The president can go to Congress with his preferred policies and ask for changes, Learner said, but solar energy tax credits and wind production tax credits already have strong bipartisan support.
Funds for the Illinois EV charger network under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, on the other hand, are subject to more direct presidential control.
“Here the administration does have a degree of flexibility and can decide, with regard to new expenditures, whether to move forward or not,” Learner said. “If (the expenditures) have been congressionally authorized and appropriated, the administration has to follow what Congress has decided.”
Of the $148 million in money for an electric charger network that Illinois was expecting from the EV formula program, the state announced $25 million in grants in September for 37 projects with 182 new charging ports.
Applications are currently open for a second round of funding, expected to distribute about $24 million in grants.
It’s unclear how much of the money could be vulnerable under the Trump executive order, but Urbaszewski said the state has to first spend its own money and then get reimbursed by the EV formula program or the federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.
That reimbursement system means money stays in federal hands longer, which could be a disadvantage if funding is cut off.
“That, and the fact that those two programs are specifically called out in the executive order — specifically — makes me a little nervous,” Urbaszewski said. …
The executive order is not expected to have much impact on residential solar in Illinois, according to Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association Executive Director Lesley McCain.
The federal government currently offers a tax credit worth up to 30% of the cost to install a solar roof.
“The executive order does not impact (that tax credit), as it is part of the federal tax code, but we will keep a close eye on further developments,” McCain said in a written statement.
Urbaszewski, who supports a bid to adopt the California-style clean car and clean truck rules in Illinois, said those rules could help Illinois meet its EV goals if federal EV-charger funding were cut.
The rules, currently under consideration by the Illinois Pollution Control Board, would require that all new passenger vehicles sold in Illinois be zero emissions by 2035.
During his first term, Trump tried to rescind a waiver that allowed California to pursue car emissions standards stricter than the federal government’s.
“This is all going to end up in court, and it’s going to take years to figure out whether the U.S. EPA under Trump actually has the authority to take back a waiver once it has been granted,” Urbaszewski said.
In the meantime, he’d like to see Illinois adopt the California standards, which he said would accomplish the EV formula program goal of expanding the Illinois charging network.
Read full post at Chicago Tribune
Nothing says Hypocracy better then a EV Generator running on Fossil Fuel
If Illinois government thinks that EVs are going to take off then why should the taxpayers be on the hook for paying for the charging stations? The government (hence the taxpayers) did not fund building gas stations so if the number of EVs are going to climb as they are expecting then where are the private investors to build these charging stations.