Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
Raleigh, NC - Today, in the midst of National Drive Electric Week, the Sierra Club, Clean AIRE NC, NC League of Conservation Voters, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, NC Conservation Network and the NC Justice Center released a report of independent modeling and analysis of the state of North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the significant benefits of the state transitioning away from fossil fuel vehicles to electric ones.
Produced by energy analysis firm Synapse Energy Economics, this new report presents what needs to be done in order for the state to achieve the ambitious emissions reductions and electric vehicle commitments in Governor Cooper’s Executive Order (EO) 246 issued in January.
The newly-released report contains several major findings, including an EV charging gap analysis of the state’s public charging stations and a breakdown of the range of benefits of a transition to electric vehicles (climate, public health, and fuel cost savings) for North Carolinians.
The full report is available online as a PDF at sc.org/NCTranspo.
“Governor Cooper has set forward a bold executive order to move our state to a clean transportation future that will benefit all North Carolinians, and this report lays out what needs to happen to get us there,” said Cassie Gavin, Director of Government Relations for Sierra Club North Carolina. “Moving to clean vehicles will protect the health of residents across the state and help us mitigate the impacts of the worsening climate crisis we feel in our communities. We have no time to waste to meet our climate and clean vehicle commitments, which will have a direct impact on people’s lives. We urge the Cooper administration to move swiftly to accelerate North Carolina’s electric vehicle transition by investing in the necessary amount of charging infrastructure to achieve Executive Order 246.”
“The state is currently writing its Clean Transportation Plan and receiving $109 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to deploy public chargers from the mountains to the sea,” said Stan Cross, Electric Transportation Policy Director for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “With the EV market expanding rapidly, the state should leverage this planning and funding to deploy charging infrastructure urgently and strategically, helping enable equitable access to electric mobility for all North Carolinians.”
"Consumers want options when it comes to transportation and fuels, and importantly, they want transportation costs to decline", said Joel Porter, Policy Manager with CleanAIRE NC. "To bend that cost curve, now is the time to plan and invest for an affordable, equitable, and clean transportation future – And that starts with charging infrastructure."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.