Effects of Charging Infrastructure on Electric Vehicles Adoption and Transportation Emissions in the United States: A Panel Analysis.
Date
2024-08
Authors
Gbeda, James Mark
Major Professor
Depaula, Gil
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Abstract
Transportation is one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions globally and in the United States. To address this challenge, policymakers consider electrification of the transportation sector as a viable solution. Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption has been trending upward in recent years, suggesting significant progress toward green transportation and green climate in general. However, studies on the extent to which EV charging infrastructure affects electric vehicle adoption and its effect on carbon emissions in the United States of America (U.S.A) have shown varied outcomes. This study examines the effect of EV charging infrastructure on EV adoption and the effect of EV charging infrastructure on transportation emissions.
By combining a rigorous econometric model with sub-sample analysis, we provide a robust quantification of the critical role of public and private EV charging infrastructure on EV adoption and emission reduction in the United States. By focusing on the transportation sector emission, we dive deeper into the policy implications tailored to green transportation rather than the entire economic emission activities. Using panel regression technique, we show that infrastructure enhances EV adoption. Specifically, using a fixed effect model, we found that adding one extra charging port per thousand population is associated with a 0.4% increase in EV adoption while an additional charging station is associated with 2% increase in EV adoption. We established that each charging station in a state per thousand population could have five times the impact on a state’s EV adoption than adding one charging port.
Our analyses further reveal that private charging infrastructure contributes more to EV adoption than public charging stations in the United States. Thus, adding one more private EV charging station per thousand population in a state is associated with a 15.7 percent increase compared to a 2.8 percent increase in EV adoption when one extra public charging station is added. We document that public charging stations have a reducing effect on emissions while private charging stations have an increasing impact on emissions. Overall, no statistically significant relationship was established between EV “all-charging” infrastructure (public and private) and transportation emissions. Based on the findings of the study, we recommend that stakeholders should pay more attention to charging infrastructure policy coordination that foster collaboration between states to develop a cohesive and comprehensive EV infrastructure network across the country. This would accelerate EV adoption, enhance the effectiveness of charging infrastructure, and address transportation-related carbon emissions, contributing to the broader goals of environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation.
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Copyright
2024