Gov. Mike DeWine (R) Very Proud Of New EV Charging Stations Ohio Building All By Itself!
With a little help from whom? Joe Biden? No, NO ONE HELPED.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine got on the Former Twitter X Box Wednesday with a big announcement: Ohio, he was happy to say, is the “first state in the nation to break ground on an electric vehicle (EV) charging station built as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.” He even included the mandatory cheesy pun, saying that Ohio “continues to lead the charge.” And there in the attached video was a great big power shovel that was indeed breaking some ground.
Sure sounds like Ohio is indeed quite the leader in the transition to clean energy, all right! A press release from the governor’s office went into a little more detail about that, pointing out that the groundbreaking — at a Pilot Travel Center truck stop along Interstate 70 near Columbus — is “the latest in a series of major EV advancements” Ohio has made, and just look at what Ohio has been doing:
“Ohio was the first state in the nation to release a request for charging station proposals last year, which was a strategic move to put Ohio ahead of other states for sought-after equipment and specialized technicians to install the stations. Showing a continued urgency to give Ohioans an advantage in the shift to electric, Ohio was also the first state in the country to announce the future sites of its first round of EV charging stations.”
Such a forward-looking, innovative state! And that “National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI)” program, whatever it is, sounds pretty neat, too. Is that some sort of coalition of forward-looking states that are harnessing the power of free enterprise to move the nation to EVs? Haha, you the reader know better, since you read the headline but then suffered through all my bumptious praise of Ohio anyway. Thanks for playing along!
NEVI is of course the name for the federal program to give states money to build a fast EV charging stations, one of the big achievements of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden. Somehow the Ohio press release lacks the words “federal” or “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” and of course dares not even whisper “Biden.” NEVI is run jointly by the Departments of Energy and Transportation, and the federal share of spending for the new charging stations is 80 percent.
If DeWine wanted to revise his statement on the new EV chargers, it would look like this. The bits in bold are our additions.
“Ohio continues to lead in this rising sector, with help from federal funds in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law" said Governor DeWine. "From securing investments by manufacturers who are building battery factories thanks to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act to building key infrastructure (for which we’re paying 20 percent), we and the Biden administration are truly positioning Ohioans for the electric future. This groundbreaking further demonstrates the state’s commitment to installing chargers that are 80 percent paid for with federal funds as quickly as possible for the benefit of Ohio drivers."
Honesty is, after all, the best policy.
And in the interests of honesty, we’ll happily acknowledge that while it would have been way more honest if DeWine had mentioned the infrastructure law, at least Ohio’s four congressional Democrats all voted to pass it, joined by just two Republicans, Sen. Rob Portman and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez — both of whom decided not to run in 2022. Very brave!
So congrats, Gov. DeWine: You’re not quite as bad here as Coach Sen. Dumbass Tommy Tuberville, who voted against the infrastructure bill and then bragged on Twitter about how it was bringing broadband to rural Alabama. As you’ll recall, Joe Biden retweeted that with “See you at the groundbreaking.” Funny, though, DeWine seems not to have invited him. Maybe for the actual dedication next year?
Still, good on Ohio for going all in on EVs, even if state officials won’t say “Thanks a lot, Joe.” Along with this first site, the press release says another two dozen NEVI charging stations will be going up along Ohio interstates in coming months, with all of ‘em planned to be online by the end of 2024. The state is also expanding its own EV fleet and building charging stations at state offices and facilities.
The next round of EV stations (with 80 percent federal funding) will be built along not only interstates, but also on US highways and state routes, expanding the reach of EV fast-charging infrastructure to rural areas. The press release even acknowledges, partly, and down in the next to last paragraph, that “In total, Ohio will receive $140 million in NEVI funds over the next five years to support the installation of EV charging stations across the state.”
You’re welcome. Doofus.
[Governor Mike DeWine / US Department of Transportation / WHIO-TV / Photo: Ohio DOT]
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Cheesebro melted under intense grilling and flipped.
Just updated with another note that many of those "investments by manufacturers" DeWine bragged on are ALSO thanks to Biden and Democrats, because those new battery factories in Ohio are only being built in the US because of the consumer *and industry* incentives in the IRA
https://www.wonkette.com/p/automakers-all-in-on-new-ev-battery-factories-thanks-joe-biden-and-joe-manchin