US gov’t may update EV charger subsidy rules for newly-certified NACS port
The Federal Highway Administration announced today that it will seek feedback on how government rules should be updated to account for the new NACS/J3400 charging standard, potentially unlocking $7.5 billion in federal subsidies for the Tesla-developed charging connector.
As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US government has allocated $7.5 billion in subsidies to expand EV charging access. $5 billion of that is through the NEVI program, which is intended to install a nationwide backbone of fast chargers at least every 50 miles along America’s major roads in order to make EV road trips seamless.
But one requirement of that law was that the chargers installed must be accessible by multiple brands of electric car – standard, not proprietary. This requirement is obviously reasonable, but it also seemed targeted at Tesla, a company that had built its own Supercharger network only accessible by Tesla vehicles.
In response to this, Tesla released specifications of its charging connector which it called the “North American Charging Standard.” This was somewhat of an absurd name at the time, given that Tesla was the only company using it.
However, since Tesla is a majority of the US EV market, Tesla’s argument was that most of the cars and most of the DC charging stations in America already used Tesla’s connector, so it should be considered a de facto standard anyway.
For a few months, not many people took this seriously. However, Ford shook up the industry by announcing it would adopt the NACS plug on upcoming vehicles. Soon after, GM made the same move, and now basically everyone else has – including one of the last holdouts Volkswagen, as of today.
But even after momentum was apparent, the White House threw cold water on NACS’ victory, reminding everyone that there are still “minimum standards” within federal charger subsidy rules, and it would have to examine how NACS fulfills those standards, to ensure that the charging network stay accessible and interoperable. A standard isn’t a standard just because one company says it is – it has to be treated like a standard with independent control and verification.
As of today, any DC chargers installed with federal money can have NACS connectors, but must also include CCS connectors.
This led SAE, the professional engineering organization that develops industry standards, to take up the flag of creating a real, independent standard that is no longer in the hands of Tesla, and Tesla obliged by allowing SAE to have control over the process of standardization.
The government will examine how to take advantage of the new SAE NACS/J3400 standard
And today, now that SAE has officially published its report on the J3400 charging standard (J3400 is SAE’s name for NACS), the government has simultaneously announced that it wants to re-examine its minimum standards in light of the new certification.
We covered how the new SAE/NACS standard will solve (basically) every charging problem in one fell swoop last week (click through to learn more about that, I promise it’s more interesting than an article about competing charging standards seems like it would be).
Today’s press release from the Federal Highway Administration announces that it “will soon publish a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback from stakeholders on updating FHWA’s minimum standards and requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to allow for new technology and continued innovation.”
It also specifically calls out the news of the day, name-dropping Tesla and NACS as the reason for this call to update the government’s minimum standards:
With the implementation of J3400 TM, a new standard for charging EVs published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), any supplier or manufacturer will now be able to use and deploy the Tesla-developed North America Charging Standard (NACS) connector, which a majority of automakers have announced they will adopt on vehicles beginning in 2025 with adaptors available for current owners as soon as next spring.
In addition to that, the Biden Administration and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (which worked with SAE to develop the J3400 standard) put out a press release today applauding the new standard, celebrating how quickly the process was finished, and pointing to its potential future inclusion in the FHWA’s requirements.
Electrek’s Take
Firstly, I’d like to make note of the issue that many Tesla fans had for a while about the White House not properly acknowledging Tesla. I always thought this was silly, more of a reflection of the massive chip on the shoulder of the egomaniac who is the titular head of the company in question than of actual reality.
When the Biden administration said “hold up, not so fast” early in the NACS process, it made many think that Biden was once again slighting Tesla, but today’s news I think shows that that was never the case. The government simply wanted it to be a proper standard, and now it is (and that process went really fast), and on the same day that it became a proper standard, the government announced that it’s ready to treat it like one. That all seems fair to me.
While we don’t yet know what the minimum standards will change to, it seems clear that this is an effort to update them to coalesce around NACS. Which is great news, because charging will only get better when everyone just rips the band-aid off and goes with one charging standard – and a more robust one than J1772 at that.
But this leads to the question: will the government fully embrace NACS, thus potentially leaving some of the installed base of CCS-enabled cars out of luck in the longer term? Or will it hamstring deployment to some extent, requiring CCS (which is effectively now a dead standard) and therefore not full taking advantage of the NACS standard’s myriad solutions to charging problems?
But as I stated in that last article, this decision point is also a little ironic, considering NACS’ existence seems to have been spurred on by NEVI in the first place. When the government offered billions of dollars to companies that installed chargers with the requirement that those chargers be useable with multiple vehicles, that’s what got Tesla to finally offer a “standard.”
At the time, it wasn’t really a standard because only Tesla was using it, and it was somewhat of a last-ditch effort to save the Tesla connector. Then, when Ford decided to use NACS, that’s what started all the other dominos falling.
Now, NACS is dominant, but it only happened because of NEVI in the first place – and NEVI now has the difficult decision over whether to embrace the (positive) situation it caused, even if it will give some of the installed base an effective “use-by” date as a shift to NACS will inevitably mean fewer CCS/J1772 chargers over time.
We wish that all of this would have been figured out long ago so we could be done with it by now, but it looks like the solution to all our charging problems is finally nearly at hand.
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On today’s fact-checking episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got a showdown brewing between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an updated 650 hp Kia EV6 GT that’s ready to take on the world, and some sweet deals on battery-powered goodies.
We’ve also got new electric buses at UCLA that are powered by inductive current in the road itself, and a massive new solar project on a site more famous for coal than clean. All this and a little bit of fact-checking on some fresh musky nonsense – enjoy!
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Learn more at this link.
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Read more: E-quipment highlight | Palfinger FLS 25 eDRIVE truck mounted forklift.
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![Dodge Charger EV is even cheaper to finance than the gas model with 0% APR [Update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Dodge-Charger-EV-prices-1.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The world’s first electric muscle car is finally here, and Dodge is already sweetening the deal for buyers. The Dodge Charger Daytona EV is launching with 0% APR, making it even cheaper to finance than the outgoing gas-powered model. Lease prices for the electric Charger start as low as $549 per month, but the Hellcat-like Scat Pack model may be an even better deal.
Dodge Charger EV launches with 0% APR offer
The first all-electric Dodge Charger has arrived, and surprisingly, it’s already becoming more affordable. In March, Dodge unveiled the Charger Daytona EV, kicking off “the next generation of Dodge muscle.”
According to Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis, the electric Charger “delivers Hellcat Redeye levels of performance.” That’s for the Scat Pack model, which comes with a Direct Connection Stage 2 upgrade kit straight from the factory.
The upgrade delivers up to 670 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.3 seconds. It can also cover a quarter mile in around 11.5 seconds.
In comparison, the 807 hp Dodge Charger SRT Redeye Jailbreak edition, powered by a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI SRT V8 engine, takes 3.6 seconds to get from 0 to 60 mph.
With a Stage 1 upgrade, the base R/T trim has up to 456 hp and 404 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph time in 4.7 seconds.
Dodge opened orders for the 2024 Charger Daytona EV in September, starting at $59,995. The High-performance Scat Pack trim starts at $73,190.
According to a new dealer note viewed by online auto research firm CarsDirect, all 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV models are now eligible for 0% APR financing for up to 72 months.
| 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV trim | Horsepower | 0 to 60 mph time | Starting price |
| Dodge Charger Daytona R/T | 496 hp | 4.7 seconds | $59,995 |
| Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack | 670 hp | 3.3 seconds | $73,190 |
The offer makes the electric Dodge charger even cheaper to finance than the outgoing 2023 Dodge Charger at 5.9% APR for the same 72 months. However, this is an individual offer and cannot be combined with other deals. Based on CarsDirect analysis, the 0% APR offer is limited to the Northeast, Southern, and Central US regions.
Dodge is also offering a $1,000 loyalty bonus for Stellantis (Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler) lessees that trade in for the electric Charger.
Update 11/26/24: The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV launches with lease prices starting at $549 for 36 months. With $4,999 due at signing, the effective rate is $688 per month (10,000 miles per year).
Although it may not seem cheap, it’s a pretty good deal for a $60,000 electric muscle car. According to CarsDirect analysis, the outgoing Challenger R/T has an effective cost of at least $853 per month. And that’s with an MSRP of just $43,235. The EV model is nearly $20,000 more on paper but significantly less to lease than the aging 2023 model.
Meanwhile, the Scat Pack model may be an even better deal. With a lease money factor as low as 0.00006 on a 24-month lease, the Scat Pack trim is surprisingly lower than the lease rate of 0.00027 for the base R/T model.
It also has a higher residual value. On a 24-month lease, the Scat Pack trim has a 59% residual compared to the R/T’s 54%. With both trims eligible for a $7,500 lease incentive, the high-performance model could be an even better deal.
With the $7,500 EV tax credit incentive, eligible customers can save up to $8,500 on the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV. You may want to act fast, as these deals expire on December 2, 2024.
Jeep, another Stellantis brand, launched lease prices at just $599 per month for its first luxury electric SUV last week, the Wagoneer S. Jeep’s electric Wagoneer is also available with 0% financing.
Ready to check out the world’s first electric muscle car for yourself? We can help you get started today. You use our link to find deals on 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona models at a dealer near you.
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During the first three quarters of 2024, renewables increased their output by almost 9% year-over-year, and solar is still leading the charge, reports the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Solar’s massive growth
According to the EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report, which includes data through September 2024, solar power generation (including both utility-scale and rooftop installations) shot up by 25.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023.
Utility-scale solar grew even faster – up 30.1% – while small-scale solar (mostly rooftop) increased by 16.2%. Combined, solar contributed more than 7% of the total electricity generated in the US so far this year.
Zooming in on September, utility-scale solar generation grew by a whopping 29% compared to September 2023, and rooftop solar climbed by 14.2%. Combined, solar generated 7.5% of the nation’s electricity that month.
Small-scale solar made up nearly 30% of all solar generation from January to September and provided 2% of the country’s electricity. Interestingly, small-scale solar is now producing almost double the electricity of utility-scale biomass, and over five times that of either geothermal or petroleum-based power.
Wind and renewables mix
Wind power also saw strong growth so far this year. From January to September, wind output was up 6.6% compared to last year. Wind still holds the top spot among renewables, making up 9.9% of US electricity generation in the first nine months of 2024.
The combined contribution of wind and solar provided 17% of the US’s electricity for the first three-quarters of 2024. Altogether, renewables – including wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – supplied 24% of US electricity in that period, compared to 22.8% during the same time last year.
The numbers show that renewables are growing much faster than traditional energy sources. For example, in the first nine months of 2024, renewables grew by 8.6%, which is more than double the growth rate of natural gas (4.1%) and almost seven times that of nuclear (1.3%). Even in September alone, renewable power generation was up 7.9% compared to September 2023, making up 21.3% of total electricity generation that month.
Other notable trends
From January to September, wind generated 76.4% more electricity than hydropower, and solar surpassed hydropower by 27.2%. In September alone, wind and solar produced 73.5% and 65.9% more electricity, respectively, than hydropower, due to drought conditions, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.
For the first nine months of 2024, wind and solar together produced 14.5% more electricity than coal and came close to catching up with nuclear power’s share of electricity generation (17% compared to nuclear’s 17.6%). This growth has solidified renewables’ place as the second-largest source of electricity generation in the US, behind natural gas.
Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed the EIA’s data, put it simply: “Renewable energy sources now account for a quarter of the nation’s electricity. Any attempt by the incoming Trump Administration to undermine renewables would have serious negative impacts on both the country’s electricity supply and the economy.”
Read more: US solar and wind growth defies expectations – a decade in numbers
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