White House aide: Electric vehicles could form base of bipartisan energy bill

White House energy adviser Heather Zichal said Wednesday that provisions to spur deployment of electric vehicles could form the foundation of bipartisan energy legislation that can gain traction on Capitol Hill.

Zichal’s comments could boost bipartisan electric vehicle legislation that Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) are promoting.

“A lot of the bill has great ideas in it and we are hopeful that it could serve as the underpinning for a broader package that could move through Congress,” said Zichal, the deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

Zichal, speaking at a forum hosted by The National Journal, said measures on electric vehicles could be the “base” of a targeted bill that also includes provisions on oil-and-gas production, building efficiency and green-energy R&D. “We are working very closely with both sides of the aisle on how to answer that question of what is do-able,” Zichal said.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is also bullish on the Merkley-Alexander plan.

Their bill contains a suite of provisions aimed at expanding the use of electric vehicles, which are now just a tiny niche market but are viewed as a promising way to curb oil dependence.

The legislation would create new Energy Department programs, such as expanded technical assistance to state and local governments and support for workforce training needed around charging infrastructure and other issues.

A key provision would create “deployment communities” throughout the country, with goals including deployment of 400,000 plug-in vehicles in these areas.

Other features of the communities — which are designed to provide models for rapid national deployment — would include demonstration of how the vehicles are integrated into the electric grid and increasing domestic manufacturing, among others.

The bill also authorizes funding for various R&D programs, requires new planning by utilities and authorizes loan guarantees for charging infrastructure, among many other measures.