Pennsylvania is seeing a “dramatic” increase in electric vehicle sales this year, and with the continuing growth comes the need for charging stations and infrastructure.
It’s National Drive Electric Week, and state officials said while overall vehicles sales dropped in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, electric vehicle sales increased, PennDOT Policy Director Natasha Fackler said.
From January through June of this year, Pennsylvania had just under of 7,000 electric car sales, Fackler said. That’s on top of the almost 30,000 registered electric vehicles already on the road in the Keystone State — 16,915 all-electric vehicles and 11,545 plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“We expect that will continue to grow,” said Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Pennsylvania has committed to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road, including electrifying 25% of the state’s own fleet by 2025, and offering state rebates for electric vehicle purchases.
Electric vehicle tax credits are a hot topic at the federal level, too, as legislation currently making the rounds would add $4,500 to the current $7,500 max tax credit for electric vehicle buyers.
While there are incentives for people to buy electric vehicles, Pennsylvania is also focusing on the charging infrastructure to support electric vehicles, since concerns over the availability and location of public charging stations is a top issue for drivers, officials said.
In the Lehigh Valley, there are charging stations in shopping centers, parking garages and at Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network campuses.
Driving PA Forward has allocated $8.5 million for competitive grants for fast charging equipment and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle supply equipment, and a $9.2 million rebate program for the installation of Level 2 electric vehicle charging equipment.
In the past year, 600 public plugs have been added in the state, Fackler said.
In June, the state DEP announced it had installed its 1,000th Level 2 electric vehicle charger statewide with Driving PA Forward funding. That includes 14 dual-port electric vehicle charging stations in seven of the Allentown Parking Authority’s parking decks, and 12 charging projects at state parks.
Pennsylvania has identified electric vehicle charging corridors for long-distance drivers, including I-78, I-80 and I-81.
The goal is to have chargers every 50 miles along the highway and no more than 5 miles from the road, with accompanying roadside signs. The routes marked pending currently have public DC fast charging stations more than 50 miles apart, Fackler said.
Pennsylvania depends on the gas tax for part of its transportation funding, and the increase in electric vehicles means a decrease in the liquid fuels tax.
State officials are talking with state legislators about “equitable and efficient ways” for electric vehicle drivers to pay for their use of state roads, Fackler said.
That includes the controversial alternative funding plan to toll certain PennDOT bridges; an initial list of nine bridges across the state, including on I-78 and I-80, were proposed earlier this year.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.