US Department of Energy expands loan program to include EV charging stations

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has expanded its federal loan guarantee program to extend to companies wishing to build more EV chargers. The whole idea is to keep pushing for a thicker electric-vehicle infrastructure, which should help ease buyers' anxieties and potentially boost EV adoption rates, Reuters reports. As the government considers charging stations to be part of transmission or distribution networks, they're eligible for a specific kind of government loan.

Reuters also points out that the government is partnering with some 50 companies, including automakers, utilities and EV-charger manufacturers, to help flesh out our country's charging infrastructure. Tesla, Ford, GM, BMW and others have signed on to the project. The government also hopes that local governments will more readily purchase fleets of EVs.

While US sales of electric vehicles haven't met the government's lofty expectations, it's hoping that additional infrastructure and incentives will bring us closer to those targets.