Last week, the Biden administration managed to pass a mammoth $1.2 trillion bill to upgrade infrastructure in the US. One prominent feature of the Infrastructure bill, complementing the recent COP26 summit, is its focus on upgrading green infrastructure as part of the evolving efforts to combat climate change. Through this piece we assess the current state of green infrastructure in the US through the lens of electric and biofuel powered transportation.

To begin with, we find states of Vermont and California to be best prepared to invite high turnout for alternative fuel vehicles, with the highest number of alternative fuel stations per 100,000 population.

Electric Cars

Of the bill’s $73 billion set to expand clean energy initiatives, around $7.5 billion will be spent to build new charging stations for electric vehicles. Electric charging stations have been on the rise since the start of the last decade. However, despite the US government’s push for electric cars, demand for electric cars in the US remains a slow phenomenon. EVs roughly made for only 2% of US total car sales last year, as opposed to the world average of 4.6%. Surprisingly, EV sales have jumped up this year, comprising 3.6% of total sales by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

Over the last decade, some states in the US have also shown great receptivity to EVs. For instance, Georgia has observed the highest growth rates in electric charging stations. This is owed to hefty state tax incentives. The state offered $5,000 tax credit to EV drivers until 2015, earning the state around 30,000 EV drivers.

Ethanol

A high ethanol blend in gasoline (E85 vehicles) can ensure reduction in carbon emissions upto 88% (using ethanol produced from cellulosic feedstocks). However, such ethanol blending seems less in the trend now than a decade earlier, evident in the low acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles by state agencies over the last few years. Infact, very few E85 flexible Fuel vehicle models have been offered by manufacturers in 2021, heavily discouraged by regulations and incentivised rather to making electric vehicles.