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Friday, March 29, 2024

Experts Debate Where EV Charging Infrastructure Needs to Be

Raise the issue of electric vehicle charging to experts, and there is no shortage of differing opinions on how investment, public policy and market movement can encourage wider adoption of EV vehicles.

However, one idea seems to be producing a consensus: there is not enough EV infrastructure at any level to meet some of the ambitious goals set by EV supporters or even automakers and move transport away from fossil fuels in the next 10 to 15 years. .

The U.S. installs 600 DC fast chargers a quarter, far fewer than the 2,000 chargers a quarter needed to meet demand expected in 2030, said Britta Gross, director of the Global Carbon-Free Mobility Program at Rocky Mountain Institute, In some of her comments at the summit held by Veloz earlier this month.


“So we’re not getting close to the kind of pace we need,” Gross said firmly.

Other speakers at the summit, such as Miriam Bulag, director of a sustainable transportation project at Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC), questioned the preference for public high-speed chargers, and instead argued for further charging at home and at work.

“While I see a very important question,” Bouallegue said of fast chargers, “they really do not serve the everyday community member like charging at home or at work.

“Yes, the corridor is very, very important,” she added. “But it’s not necessarily beneficial to your average everyday EV driver in the same way that accessible home charging would do.”

Others, like Sven Tesan, founder and co-director of the EV Charging Access for All Coalition, said do not forget a simple, low-level, low-level charge that requires only a standard socket and no additional infrastructure.

“Volvo is currently running a whole series of advertisements that talk about how helpful low-load, or Level 1 charging is,” Tesan said, noting that a Level 1 connection could be a repair that could be made in older multi-family housing systems.

Analisa Bevan, an expert on zero emissions infrastructure at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), argued that residents living in apartments should have the same access to Level 2 charging, common to ground-level homes.

“I know we can charge 110 [watts]. But we also know that a lot of people use Level 2, want Level 2, and should have the option to get Level 2. And some will need it, “Bevan said at the summit.

Dedrick Roper, director of public-private partnerships at ChargePoint, tried to dispel thinking that aligns with refueling a regular car. Think about how you charge your cell phone, he said.

“You charge it overnight at home, and then you fill it up when you’re somewhere for a long time, whether it’s shopping, whether it’s the workplace, etc.,” Roper said, citing a policy that puts more charge in workplaces, schools, parks and retail destinations .

However, Roper still believes that fast charging plazas on highways are also needed to help “normalize the entire charging experience.”

Regardless of the many policies that localities and states may take while planning and building for an electrified future, everyone seems to agree that charging opportunities should be as numerous as the many use cases of electric vehicles. John Eichberger, CEO of the Fuel Institute, said there is a need to gradually increase the charging infrastructure as demand increases.

“Do not do anything stupid,” Eichberger said, addressing public officials. “Do not create too much of a challenge. And build for the future and provide funding for the future.”

Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation and other areas. He spent more than 12 years reporting in daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Sacramento.

See more stories by Skip Descant

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