Spurred by fuel-price volatility and environmental concerns, the Obama administration has pledged $2.4 billion in grants to get one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Despite sales of only 17,345 electric vehicles in the U.S. in 2011—one-tenth of 1% of all automotive sales—the market's future remains bright.

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are planning for vehicle charging stations to be built in residential, commercial and public locations. They are working with the federal Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) to meet the anticipated skilled-worker demand.