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Obama Puts Up $2.4 Billion for Electric Vehicles

Thursday 19 March 2009

by:   |  Agence France-Presse

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President Obama next to a Ford Escape Hybrid. (Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images)

    Pomona, California - President Barack Obama Thursday unveiled a 2.4 billion dollar boost for electric vehicle development, vowing to compete with foreign nations in the race to be world leader on renewable energy.

    "We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad or we can create them here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity," Obama said on the second day of a campaign-style swing in California.

    Obama said the money would be used to develop next generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and advanced battery components and would create tens of thousands of US jobs and reduce reliance on foreign oil.

    He set a target of putting a million of the environmentally friendly vehicles on US roads by 2015.

    The plan would also give a 7,500 dollar tax credit to people who buy plug-in hybrid vehicles, Obama said, as he toured a plant in southern California developing the new generation transport.

    "The nation that leads on energy will be the nation that leads the world in the 21st century," Obama said.

    "That's why, around the world, nations are racing to lead in these industries of the future."

    The president bemoaned the fact that the United States lagged behind some of its key European and Asian trading partners in the race to develop new generation fuels and vehicles.

    "Germany is leading the world in solar power," he said.

    "Spain generates almost 30 percent of its power by harnessing the wind, while we manage less than one percent and Japan is producing the batteries that currently power American hybrid cars."

    The funds, dispersed by the Department of Energy, will offer up to 1.5 billion dollars to US manufacturers who produce highly efficient batteries and 500 million dollars for firms that produce other components for the vehicles.

    A further 400 million dollars will be devoted to evaluating plug in hybrids and building the infrastructure they need to run, including charging stations and training for technicians who will be called upon to repair them.

    The funds were made available under Obama's 787 billion dollar economic stimulus law.

  

Comments

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This is excellent news.

 Fri, 03/20/2009 - 15:08 — Lane Baldwin (not verified)
This is excellent news. Although I'm not yet ready to purchase a new car, I look forward to being able to purchase a hybrid when the time comes. ~~ Lane Baldwin - lifewithspirit.org

Batteries. Critical. With

 Fri, 03/20/2009 - 15:43 — Anonymous (not verified)
Batteries. Critical. With GOOD batteries, we can store the energy that is produced by wind and solar and then use that energy in highly efficient ways. Here is SC, Duke power uses electricity to pump water from a low lake to a high one just so it can run the water downhill when it needs to meet peak demands. Does anyone really think that mechanically pumping water is an efficient way to store energy or that it is very ecological. Batteries that are efficient and long lasting will make a huge difference in our automobile industry, improving efficiencies, reducing pollution in our cities, and reducing the consumption of oil (and reducing cash to countries that might be supporting terrorism). Gee, think the Repugnicans might even support such a thing? Nice to have a thinking President for a change.

I applaud the decision to

 Fri, 03/20/2009 - 16:53 — Curt (not verified)
I applaud the decision to aggressively pursue plug-in electrics, however without a simultaneous conversion to renewable/non-CO2 emitting electrical generation capacity it will end up causing more coal to be burned for electricity to charge the batteries in these cars. The pursuit of renewable, low-impact energy must go hand-in-hand with plug in vehicles or it is likely to buy us little in terms of net CO2 emissions.

he is giving money to the

 Fri, 03/20/2009 - 19:43 — Anonymous (not verified)
he is giving money to the companies that have been holding us back, so they can catch up! Its their fault they didnt get on the track earlier, let them spend their own money to research what others already know. There have been many, many great new energy ideas that could have keep out cars running on electric energy indefinitly, except for the replacing of minor wear and tear parts. Wheres the money and research for those people? Oh you have to have billions first, like some special club while the rest of the world suffers. Sucks!

check it!

 Fri, 03/20/2009 - 19:43 — Anonymous (not verified)
check it!

A million vehicles by 2015?

 Sat, 03/21/2009 - 16:07 — radline9 (not verified)
A million vehicles by 2015? Way too slow. High milage hybrids have already gone past that mark in 2009. By 2015 we need 10 million vehicles like that. Cars aren't even the biggest problem. Trucks produce way more CO2. And coal is a bigger problem and we need to shut down coal soon.

It is wonderful that Obama

 Sat, 03/21/2009 - 17:57 — Brian (not verified)
It is wonderful that Obama is putting money into this. Plug-in hybrids are the best transition while better batteries are being developed for all-electric vehicles and while power generation gets greener. Radline9 is right that we need much more than this, and while Obama is doing other things to help, it is still way too little and too late to prevent a global warming cataclysm. So I can only hope that this is a small first step and much more is to come. But I am so glad Obama didn't let people talk him into postponing action completely because of the economic crisis. With all the crises he has to deal with, he is doing a superlative job so far. Let's keep pushing him to do more to deal global warming, by far the most urgent and serious problem we face.

"Who Killed The Electric

 Sat, 03/21/2009 - 20:18 — Anonymous (not verified)
"Who Killed The Electric Car?". Take a look at the movie and see that all the powers that be see it as well. It'll put your shorts in a twist and add perspective to the discussion at hand.