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WASHINGTON — Under new guidelines proposed by the Biden administration Thursday, EV charging stations built with federal dollars must be located along Interstates every 50 miles, be able to charge cars quickly, and be located no more than a mile from a major highway.

“EV drivers should be able to easily count on finding a place to recharge wherever they go,” Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg told reporters on Wednesday.

Mr Buttigieg and Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm outlined proposed regulations designed to ensure rural areas and communities with few services have the same access to electric charging stations as more urbanized areas that already have access.

The new standards are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to promote widespread adoption of zero-emission cars with the goal of ensuring that half of all new vehicles sold in the United States are electric by 2030.

Under the proposed new rule, states will need to provide at least four of the fastest charging ports, known as DirectCurrent fast chargers, at each charging station to allow multiple drivers to plug in at the same time.

Mr Buttigieg said the plan would send a “market signal” to companies building charging stations that they should offer a standard facility that can accommodate all electric and zero-emission vehicle models. Along I-95 in the northeast, many rest stops are equipped with chargers that only accommodate Tesla vehicles.

Under bipartisan infrastructure law The government signed by President Biden last year will provide $7.5 billion to states to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations.

In a proposed rulemaking notice released Thursday, the administration said it would prohibit charging stations built with federal dollars from requiring paid memberships. Charging stations will also have to use mobile apps to provide real-time information on pricing and port availability.

Biden administration officials electric vehicles in response to rising gas prices; electric cars are often much cheaper to start than petrol-burning vehicles. Management is also promoting electric vehicles as a way to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and combat climate change.

While sales of electric vehicles are strong and many manufacturers now have waiting lists for new vehicles, concerns about the initial sticker price and enough places to charge are seen as barriers to greater consumer acceptance.

Administration officials said they believe the charging station issue is on its way to being resolved. Mr. Biden has set a goal of building 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030.

A senior management official said Wednesday that internal modeling had shown that the $7.5 billion in infrastructure law was sufficient to meet and possibly exceed Mr. Biden’s target.

Ms Granholm said the standards proposed on Thursday should reassure drivers that they can charge wherever they are.

“If we’re going to build infrastructure like we haven’t done since the Eisenhower era, we have to do it right,” he said.

Making electric vehicles more affordable will be harder for the Biden administration to tackle. Tax credits of up to $12,500 for consumers who buy electric vehicles are in limbo on Capitol Hill. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin III, whose party must win the vote to pass the measure, called the electric vehicle discounts “ridiculous” given that there are currently waiting lists for some vehicles.

Electric vehicle sales now account for 4.6 percent of new purchases in the United States. Ms. Granholm noted that electric vehicle sales doubled last year and are about to double again in 2022, despite supply chain issues. semiconductor shortage.

The GOP has portrayed the Biden administration as deaf on the issue, pushing for more expensive electric cars at a time when Americans are suffering amid inflation. When Mr Buttigieg noted in March the gas savings that could be gained from driving an electric vehicle, Republicans were thrown out.

“Tell me you’re a liberal elite without telling me you’re a liberal elite,” said Texas Senator Ted Cruz.