Letter: Maine is prepared for electrical automobile transition

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The Bangor Day by day Information’  Aug. 29 editorial depends on outdated data to solid doubt on Maine’s readiness for the transition to cleaner vehicles. The editorial hyperlinks to an  article from February 2021 as proof that Maine is behind in putting in electrical automobile infrastructure. Nevertheless, this sector is altering shortly, and the general public ought to get pleasure from up-to-date data as they’re contemplating these coverage proposals.

In November 2021, Congress handed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation, with $7.5 billion in EV charging infrastructure funding, $19 million of which is coming to Maine. In Might 2022, Maine handed LD 1959, a regulation requiring grid planning to assist the state’s local weather targets, together with the EV targets within the local weather motion plan. In August 2022, Congress handed the  Inflation Discount Act, which expanded and prolonged federal EV tax incentives, and supplied incentives for home EV and battery manufacturing.

Maine’s EV charging infrastructure plan, Recharge Maine, is funding the development of a statewide community of public charging stations ample to assist the adoption of those requirements. Simply final month $6 million for brand spanking new quick charging stations down east and into Aroostook County have been introduced. An American Council for an Vitality-Environment friendly Economic system (ACEEE)  report this June discovered Maine ranked eleventh nationwide in transportation electrification readiness, forward of different New England states besides Massachusetts and Vermont.