Installation of the Month (May 2021): LADOT Lot 656

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) notes on its website that ICE vehicles are one of the city’s top contributors to air pollution, accounting for 19% of all greenhouse gas emissions, before proclaiming, “We can do better… We’re investing in public transit, testing new technology, and adopting mobility innovations for a cleaner environment and brighter future.” At first, it might just sound like flowery rhetoric, but we can personally attest to that commitment. Starting in 2019, LADOT partnered with us to install DCFCs at 57 city-owned lots, with almost 30% of those installations now completed. This alliance has been integral in promoting our goal of zero-emission mobility in the City of Angels by facilitating greater access to infrastructure.

EVCS CEO Gustavo Occhiuzzo on site at Lot 656

It’s because of this commitment to a sustainable future – including steps taken to electrify their entire bus fleet and advance traffic reduction measures – that we make LADOT’s City Lot 656 our featured site for May. The address is 1615 Colby Avenue in West Los Angeles and can be seen here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1615+Colby+Ave,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90025/@34.044509,-118.4549527,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c2bb6fc79226a1:0xb463ee8ffb007c9b!8m2!3d34.044509!4d-118.452764

The lot is conveniently situated near the 405 and 10 freeways in close proximity to the main UCLA campus and is walking distance from Sawtelle Japantown’s many distinct restaurants, salons, anime shops and artisan craft stores. Nearby attractions include The Getty Museum, Los Angeles National Cemetery and Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden. More about LADOT’s parking facilities and initiatives can be found on their website:

https://ladot.lacity.org/projects/parking-la

At Lot 656, we put four shiny new DC fast chargers in the ground, all with their own dedicated parking spots solely for EVs. These 50 kW Slim Lines feature 480 VAC three-phase input power, 6000 VAC surge protection, and an over 90% efficiency rating that will charge an EV battery to better than 80% in just one hour. The total cost of the installation, including site assessments, permitting, trenching and electrical work, ran about $400,000 and took a year to complete; however, as technology improves, demand increases and red tape is trimmed, market forces will continue to drive down costs and installation times will shrink.

According to clean energy advocacy group RMI, the cost of hardware components is already dropping as manufacturers streamline their internal processes; rather, soft costs associated with municipal and governmental regulations offer the greatest obstacle to cheaper installations. A report by Chris Nelder that RMI published in 2019 titled “Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs” notes, “the costs of permitting delays, utility interconnection requests, [and] compliance with a balkanized framework of regulations… were frequently cited as more significant cost drivers than charging station hardware in the United States.”

However, LADOT’s enthusiasm in joining with EVCS to chart a path toward greater EV adoption offered us the opportunity to work with them on many of these issues, not only to eventually improve the entire installation process for all LA-based site hosts, but to serve as a national leader for other cities to emulate. Our hope is that such frank conversations will encourage more overall participation by speeding up permitting requests, simplifying regulations and allowing for more efficient allocation of public funding that makes the installation process shorter and less burdensome to site hosts.

For now, we’re just happy to be installing more chargers. City Lot 656 is one small example of what a private/public partnership can accomplish when all goals are aligned. Thank you again to the City of LA and its Department of Transportation for helping us pave new roads to the future!

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Top 10 Reasons Why Mass EV Adoption is Inevitable

According to evadoption.com, EV sales are expected to grow from 3.4% of all new auto sales in 2021 to 29.5% in 2030. In fact, they cite several models that forecast explosive growth in EV ownership across the US over the next decade. See the full sales forecasts here complete with bar charts and supporting data: https://evadoption.com/ev-sales/ev-sales-forecasts/. While skeptics might pooh-pooh these projections as overly optimistic, we believe they may actually fall short of the eventual reality. Of course, only time will tell, but below are our top 10 reasons why we believe EVs will be as commonplace as microwaves come 2030.

Installation of the Month (July 2021): LADOT Lot 657

One of our main goals has been to install charging infrastructure in underserved communities, especially urban population centers that are key to our mission of wider EV adoption. Los Angeles is rife with such neighborhoods, where low-income families who wish to participate in the greening of society cry out for cost-effective ways to be part of the solution. Lincoln Heights, one of the oldest sections of the city, is a prime example. The densely populated area boasts numerous Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander groups who have expressed interest in electric mobility, but historically lacked access to the requisite charging stations. Moreover, with a median age of just 24, Lincoln Heights is brimming with younger generation Angelenos who have already embraced the idea of sustainability, but simply need the opportunity to take action.

West Coast Electric Highway to Receive Extensive Upgrade from EVCS

ARCADIA, Calif. (August XX, 2021) – EV Charging Solutions (EVCS), one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) fast charging network operators on the West Coast, today announced that they are approved and funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to upgrade 44 and add three new electric vehicle charging stations on the Oregon portion of the original West Coast Electric Highway (WCEH). Eleven of the 47 stations will be called “superstations” and will include three DC fast chargers and one Level 2 AC charger. In all, more than 100 charging ports will be upgraded or added.

Is Policy Action Alone Enough to Reach Net Zero by 2050?

Recently, BloombergNEF published a telling article titled, “Electric Vehicle Sales Set to Rise Faster Than Ever, but More Policy Action Needed to Get on Track for Net Zero.” The author raises many interesting observations about where we are now in the transition to electric mobility; where we’re projected to be in 10, 20 and even 30 years based on current trajectories; and what we need to do if we’re going to be net zero by 2050.

Auto Trends Magazine: Occhiuzzo Debunks 4 Misconceptions Surrounding EV Fast Charging Stations

Our co-founder and CEO, Gustavo Occhiuzzo, is quickly emerging as a thought leader in the world of electric mobility, becoming someone stakeholders can count on to demystify obscurities and address falsehoods surrounding the installation and application of charging infrastructure. Like any new technology, resistance to adoption is often based on fallacious notions, some of which may be perpetrated by those with a financial interest in competing technologies. Therefore, countering such notions with facts is crucial if both drivers and site hosts are to make an informed decision about EV adoption. Occhiuzzo most recently addressed four of the biggest misconceptions surrounding chargers in the article below for Auto Trends Magazine.