Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) has announced plans to use $14 million from Virginia’s settlement with automaker Volkswagen (VW) to build a statewide electric vehicle charging network.
Virginia is expected to receive a total of $93.6 million from an environmental trust formed in a settlement with VW from the company’s emissions test cheating scandal:
Funding for the initiative includes $14 million from a settlement with Volkswagen. The settlement, which resulted from the use of emissions testing defeat devices in Volkswagen vehicles, requires the auto company to establish a nearly $3 billion environmental mitigation trust. Virginia is expected to receive $93.6 million from this trust, and the commonwealth may spend a maximum of 15 percent on electric vehicle infrastructure.
The EV charging network will be just the latest de facto subsidy for EV manufacturers and owners, who receive huge direct and indirect subsidies from taxpayers, manufacturers of gas-powered cars, and others.
