Addressing Pain Points in Creating EV Infrastructure

A recent GovTech.com article titled “How Biden Plans to Build 500 EV Charging Stations” discusses the President’s goals for creating a nationwide network of 500,000 such installations by 2030. (See the complete article here: https://www.govtech.com/transportation/biden-plans-to-build-500-ev-charging-stations#:~:text=President%20Joe%20Biden%20has%20proposed,charging%20stations%20nationwide%20by%202030)

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.

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Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.

Mexico to Canada EV Road Trip: EVCS Interview

We sat down with EV owner and enthusiast Anthony Williams, a 60-year-old business owner from San Diego, who recently commemorated the 10-year anniversary of his first trans-American road trip in an EV by retracing the same route to see what had changed in the world of EV fast charging, for better or for worse. Below are some of his insights and feedback.

Installation of the Month (June 2022): KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center

“For us, healthcare is not only about caring for our patients, but also about investing in the people who live in our communities.” These are the words emblazoned across the home page of the KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center’s website. Facilities like these are attractive partners for us because, like us, their goal is the betterment of humanity. In fact, just replace “healthcare” with “electric mobility” and “patients” with “planet,” and you have the EVCS mission statement in a nutshell. Allying with kindred spirits creates a natural synergy for us through the sharing of core values like customer service and an improved quality of life. Imagine then our excitement when KPC decided to install four of our newest DC fast chargers on their Anaheim property, giving us the opportunity to continue expanding our network southward.