Administration invented another $100 Million this week to fix broken EV chargers. More corporate handouts to ChargePoint?
According to their statistics, a mere 4.1% of chargers are out of order. Many anecdotal articles would suggest it’s much worse than that. And if it really is merely 6,261 out of 151K chargers out of order, that’s a $16,000 payola PER CHARGER to get them up and running again.
Still.not.solving.the.root.cause.
Where's my subsidy for getting my "greener" hyperheats repaired when the mice eat through the outside wires?
“ We’re building a bigger EV charging network to keep up with driver demand, and we’re also going to make sure the currently available network is working when you need a charge,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt.”
I would think if there really was the demand that there wouldn’t be an issue. Companies tend to solve these issues if they are losing money due to not being able to deliver. They tend to neglect when the cost of improving isn’t going to help make more money. Or maybe the economics of charging stations just don’t make sense, gas stations make money from selling over priced crap, not gas.
Apparently not as a stand alone business, one electron is pretty much the same as all others but it does make sense as an adjunct to your business. Hilton seems to think so
The term “gas station” is out of date. They are in fact convenience stores with gas pumps.
I think you expect those convenience stores to install ev charging when they see the investment justified. If EVs do get to 50% share in 2030 as some expect, i doubt convenience stores will let those customers go elsewhere.
Besides that 30 min for charging gives them many sales opportunities. Internet connections, comfy chairs with video, massage chairs, etc.
I don’t think they get that choice. People use gas stations because the entire transaction takes 5 minutes. Pump gas, walk inside and get a beer. Or, because it’s conveniently located go inside and get a beer and don’t pump gas.
Very few are likely to hang around “a convenience store” for 30 minutes to get a charge. That has a better chance at a mall, or a WalMart, or a restaurant, or a hotel, or some other place that can keep hyperactive Americans entertained somehow for the full charging time.
I’m pretty sure there will still be convenience stores, heck CVSs are such which also happen to sell drugs. But the days of 3 or 4 at an intersection will end, there will be one. The others will morph into nail salons or pizza huts, lord knows we need more of those!
I’ve seen quite a few Wawa’s and Bucee’s that have installed EV chargers. I’ve used them a number of times on long trips. And every single time, we go inside and buy stuff at the convenience store. I would think that people in an EV that will be charging for 10-20 minutes will purchase MORE stuff than people in an ICE car that is gassing up in 3-5 minutes will purchase.
I would agree that it will work for “destination” convenience stores. I don’t think so for many typically small ones as I see around. About a mile from my house we have 3 on a corner. (Actually the 4th used to be one to, but it has converted to a donut shop.) Eventually I see a second one closing, and perhaps then a third. But there is plenty of population around to keep a convenience store in business, even as the “gas at the pump” business declines.
Yes, I would expect people spending 20 minutes stuck at a store to buy more, but I’d expect them to do that a lot less when they don’t have to buy gas at all because they mostly “fill up” at home, so it’ll balance out, sort of.
The Depression-era mandate that ATT go to the most rural of farmhouses was actually good for ATT.
Boeing would not have succeed until recently without military orders.
And the list goes on.
The network for chargers has to be much better than it is to gain a better EV adoption rate. After that adoption rate really picks up it pays for itself, not before hand.
In my neighborhood they are much more than that. They are the closest store. They are indeed convenient. For a quick purchase, they are nearby and easy. I wonder how many customers buy gas? Plenty do not.
Given most charging is done at home, you don’t need nearly the same as you do for gas stations. They may never pay for themselves as even if/when adoption rates pick up as most are not needed. I certainly can see the Costco offering subsidies charging just like under priced chickens as a loss leader to entice shoppers. But not sure charging will be a viable business even with mass adoption. Is is possible to see this business broken out anywhere?
And charging is becoming an attraction at hospitality, retail, and office locations. In time the petrochemical industry will be the major consumer of fossil fuels (in a decade or five).
I agree. It’ll work for the larger filling stations along major routes, but it won’t work for “neighborhood” filling stations. There’s no point having fast DC chargers in neighborhoods filled with Single-family homes because nearly everyone will be charging at home in their driveway or garage. Here home charging costs $0.15/kWh versus $0.24-$0.42/kWh at local fast DC chargers. This is roughly how it is across the country. It may work in denser areas where many people live in apartment buildings without sufficient charging points where the residents park their cars overnight.
When the transition to EVs “completes” (15-30 years from now), there will be multiple charging solutions as appropriate to the locale. I suspect there will be a mix of daytime charging where people park their cars while at work, nighttime charging where apartment dwellers park their cars, some charging in shopping areas while running errands, fast DC charging along major highways, and of course home charging in driveway/garage. Additionally, the vehicles and the charging systems will be “smart” and will schedule charging at optimum times for the usage pattern and for the grid.
Boeing certainly lived off the military in the 40s and 50s. From the 60s, on, Boeing’s business was mostly commercial, until the merger with McDonnell. The company’s relocation of HQ to DC tells me their plan for the future is to return to suckling on the government L!L, like Lockheed and GD do.
