While it does a smart job laying out many of the pain points we face in facilitating EV adoption, the mention of solutions was far less prevalent, and ones that were mentioned seemed speculative or tenuous. However, over the last three years, EVCS has already taken the lead in addressing many of these challenge areas, allowing us to dominate the installation market across the West Coast.
Below are specific obstacles mentioned in the article that many believe are hampering widespread EV adoption along with ways that we have been working to overcome them.
“Experts say significantly expanding the charging network would require coordination across the auto industry, retail businesses, utility companies and all levels of government.”
Our turnkey solutions are predicated upon a systematic unification of private business owners who host the chargers, utilities that provide the power (including grid balancing and demand response), and local governments that simultaneously act as site hosts, permitting agencies and funding sources. As for auto manufacturers, we’re committed to making chargers that work with any EV on the road that doesn’t utilize proprietary technology.
“Consumers fear that they won’t be able to take a road trip or visit out-of-town relatives in an electric vehicle — which remains one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption.”
We have become the fastest-growing installer of EV infrastructure on the West Coast and are responsible for over half of all new chargers in Los Angeles between 2020 and 2021. Our revitalization of the West Coast Electric Highway has expanded access throughout Oregon and Washington. And we have plans to grow our network to more underserved communities, not just on the West Coast, but across the country. Our ambitious expansion of the EVCS network is actively extinguishing range anxiety through highly increased accessibility.
Photo Courtesy of Norsk Elbilforening (Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association)
“In order for EVs to be more pervasive, it’s going to have to be gas station-like, where you can find an EV charging station with significant capacity almost anywhere.”
In large part, our focus has been on installing charging stations at key junctures like near freeway ramps and at local points of interest such as restaurants, grocery stores, shopping malls, transit centers and city parks. Moreover, we’ve concentrated on key tourist-style destinations that will help facilitate long-distance EV travel, including hotels, casinos, visitor centers and convention centers.
“Level 2 chargers (which typically charge slowly over hours while the owner is at work or at home) cost about $4,000 to install and DC fast chargers… cost between $50,000 and $110,000 to install. Once installed, maintaining the chargers also costs thousands of dollars.”
We research, identify and access myriad federal and state funding opportunities, ensuring that most of our clients pay nothing for their installations. The majority of our network is DCFC, meaning drivers can charge their EVs up to 80% in under an hour – perfect for a quick trip to the grocery store, gym or coffeehouse. In addition, our solutions include no-cost maintenance for five years. So, not only do site hosts save tens of thousands of dollars in costs, but they add a significant new revenue stream with the possibility to attract a whole new customer base.
“Some argue electric vehicles aren’t totally zero-emissions because fossil fuels are still the largest electricity source in the country.”
We have already taken steps to ensure EVCS chargers are powered 100% by clean, abundant, renewable energy. Not only will our customers have access to one of the largest DC fast charging networks in the nation, but they will also have peace of mind knowing that they are truly having a positive impact on the environment by reducing fossil fuel usage.
Last week, governor Gavin Newsom made major headlines when he announced through executive order that California will prohibit the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks starting in 2035 – just 15 years away. Additional regulations will call for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to be carbon-neutral by 2045. For those of us who have been decrying the slow transition from pollutant-emitting internal combustion engines to more efficient ones powered by zero-emission lithium-ion batteries, it was welcomed news.
When we bought the Oregon and Washington State legs of the West Coast Electric Highway (WCEH) earlier this summer, our goal was to promote the idea of responsible mobility by providing a carbon-neutral infrastructure that allowed EV drivers greater freedom of range in their travels. We hoped this would be welcomed news during a time when so many other distractions were dominating the news cycle. But as the pandemic persisted and the effects of the lockdown continued to ravage local economies, we realized that our contiguous network of DC fast chargers might serve another equally noble if somewhat unintended purpose: to facilitate much-needed tourism activity at some of the Pacific Northwest’s most picturesque points of interest.
It can sometimes be difficult to wade through the flurry of sustainable energy bills being proposed in Congress. Several of them are in various stages of the legislative process at any one time, and many never make it out of committee. However, the recently announced Build GREEN Act seems destined for the President’s desk at some point soon, as it comes during a time when crumbling infrastructure and the need to create jobs has become a priority for the current administration. It also has the backing of five powerful progressives in Congress – Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) along with House Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Andrew Levin (D-MI).
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