Originally published on 10.28.24 with City and State

Steve Wehr loves his Tesla. He enjoys the electric car’s instant torque, its futuristic technology and its 300-mile range, so much so that he advises others on how to switch from a traditional combustion engine to a battery-powered car. A clean energy coach at New Yorkers for Clean Power, Wehr helps people choose which car to buy and pick out the perfect home charger. But when it comes to reassuring them they’ll be able to find a place to recharge when they’re away from home – a necessity in a region where people are less likely to have a garage or driveway for charging – that’s where he wishes things were better.

“Until I, as a driver, know that anywhere I want to drive I can easily plug in and charge the car, I’m leery about getting one because maybe I won’t be able to charge it easily, like I’m used to with my gas car,” said Wehr, describing the hesitations of many would-be electric vehicle owners. 

More than 150,000 electric vehicles are registered in New York, more than 42,000 of them within the five boroughs of New York City, according to state vehicle registration data. Electric vehicles make up less than 2% of New York’s 11.3 million registered vehicles, however. To meet its climate goals, New York needs over 2 million EVs on the road by 2030 and 10 million by 2050, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – a public benefit corporation promoting the renewable energy sector.

New Yorkers would probably be switching to EVs faster, advocates say, if drivers had better access to public chargers. And the upcoming presidential election could have a big impact on the state’s ability to increase charger availability and electric vehicle purchases, because the two candidates have such dramatically different stances.

Vice President Kamala Harris, as part of the Biden administration, has promoted the transition to electric vehicles through two signature pieces of legislation. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicates $7.5 billion to construction of electric vehicle charging stations – at least $175 million of which will go to New York. And the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act offersrebates for consumers who purchase new or used EVs with American-made batteries, along with tax credits for individuals and businesses who install EV chargers. The Biden-Harris administration has also supported more stringent tailpipe-emission standards as a way to ensure that by 2030 at least 50% of the vehicles manufactured and sold by U.S. automakers will be electric.

In contrast, the Republican Party platform has vowed to “cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations.” It’s not clear what they mean by “electric vehicle mandate” as there is no policy that fits that description. In addition, the Republican Party platform prioritizes fossil fuel production, stating: “We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again.” Contrary to that language, the U.S. has been the world’s leading crude oil producer for the past six years, producing more crude oil than any country, at any time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. broke the previous record of 12.3 million barrels produced per day in 2023, bringing the daily record to 12.9 million barrels.