Big part of VW settlement is in building EV charging infrastructure
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer said he will likely approve the $14.7 billion settlement within the week after a hearing yesterday with owners of the vehicles that contained devices to cheat emissions tests. The settlement provides for a $10 billion buyback for the owners of 450,000 affected 2.0-liter vehicles and $4.7 billion in special funds to counter the pollution from Volkswagen's cheating.
Under the settlement, Volkswagen AG will have to invest $2 billion over 10 years to increase access to EVs by supporting charging infrastructure and public outreach, with $800 million allotted to California. ChargePoint Inc. and California lawmakers including U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D) and state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D) argued that the special fund lacks oversight and risks stifling the EV-charging industry.
Christopher Grundler, the head of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, told E&E News yesterday he disagrees that the decree lacks oversight.
"We have approval of the national plan — it's in the decree — and we would be glad to meet and confer with interested parties and get their input as we review the plan," he said.
The $2 billion investment is meant to accelerate the spread of EVs. The federal government is currently working on a nationwide plan for EV infrastructure to spur sales, which Grundler said he sees as necessary to meet the temperature goals that countries pledged as part of the Paris climate agreement.
EPA would review Volkswagen's spending plan within that "broader context," Grundler said.
"We have work to do with the new team and with our colleagues at [the Transportation and Energy departments] to come up with a collective vision for what infrastructure would look like nationally, so we can make an informed decision when Volkswagen comes in with their plan that it is consistent with ours, so that $2 billion is not wasted," he said.
EPA would make sure Volkswagen's investment meets some "broad criteria," like being brand-neutral, he added.
When asked what sort of changes he might ask for in Volkswagen's plan, Grundler said he would not "micromanage" the investment. But he said he doesn't want all the money to go toward fast-charging stations along motorways. He said he thinks there should be an emphasis on providing charging infrastructure at multifamily dwellings, for example.
EV-charging industry split
Eshoo had written to EPA and California's Air Resources Board (ARB) with concerns that the "broad authority" given to Volkswagen could allow it to invest in "its own proprietary technology or subsidiaries."
In his letter to ARB, de León wrote that the $2 billion investment "would assist VW in boosting its new line of electric vehicles, which would be unfair to others that followed the law and supported our state policy goals." He asked for the settlement terms to be changed so that the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) fund would be independently administered and be consistent with principles like customer choice, competition and innovation in the electric vehicle and the EV-charging industry.
Environmental groups and states had also asked for more opportunities to offer feedback in developing the plan in public comments.
A spokesman for ARB wrote in an email that "plans to spend California's portion of both the mitigation and ZEV infrastructure money from this settlement are subject to a full public process. This includes public workshops and comment periods. The process is quite transparent."
He wrote that the investment must benefit the entire electric vehicle and EV-charging industry and not be Volkswagen-specific.
ChargePoint, the leading EV-charging company, had led the charge on raising the concerns about oversight in the ZEV fund. The firm feared that Volkswagen would build a charging business that would be a direct competitor.
The country's EV-charging industry would be "drowned" by a $2 billion injection of capital, the company said in its comments. But others in the charging industry disagree.
Terry O'Day, vice president at EV-charging-network company EVgo, said he sees the promise of $2 billion for the industry as positive.
"There's an important value in being able to communicate to drivers that charging is ubiquitous, available and convenient, and this can do that," O'Day said. "We take a view that by planting the flag that this investment will be happening, it helps to overcome the chicken-and-egg scenario and helps attract further investment."
He expected Volkswagen to look for partners because of the rapid deployment pace required by the settlement.
ChargePoint had filed written complaints to the judge asking that he reconsider the terms for the fund late last week. ChargePoint General Counsel Jonathan Kaplan wrote in an emailed statement yesterday that he hoped Breyer would take the week to consider the firm's concerns. Camille von Kaenel, EEnews