General EV Infrastructure News

EV Freedom Act proposed to Congress would create national charging network- and jobs

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While the current Presidential administration remains hostile to nearly any effort to reduce carbon emissions, two members of Congress have introduced a bill to expand electric-car charging infrastructure.

Called the Electric Vehicle Freedom Act, the bill calls for the construction of a network of fast-charging stations along major highways within five years. It was jointly unveiled by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI). Levin is based in Warren, Michigan, home of the General Motors Technical Center, the automaker's research and development hub.

In addition to encouraging greater use of electric cars, the Electric Vehicle Freedom Act is intended to provide economic stimulation. Construction contracts will include "robust Buy America and prevailing wage requirements," according to a press release from Levin's office, with the aim of creating good-paying jobs.

The bill also calls for stations to be usable by all electric cars regardless of charging standard, and to "keep up with new technology."

But it's unclear if this legislation will address the needs of urban residents, who tend to live in apartments and condominiums and thus have fewer places to charge.

It's also unlikely Democrats will be able to muster any Republican support to get the bill passed, however. In the meantime, the national charging network is steadily expanding without direct Congressional aid. . . . [mentions Tesla, EA etc.]

Even General Motors—long reticent to invest in charging infrastructure—is getting in on the act.

In 2019 May, GM announced a deal with construction giant Bechtel to build thousands of charging stations across the United States, both along interstates and in urban areas. GM hasn't disclosed many specifics on the project, but the automaker has several new electric models in development that would benefit from expanded infrastructure.

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Shell To Double Number Of Fast Charging Points In Germany

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It not only wants to add more fast chargers, but also hydrogen fueling stations too

Shell has now doubled its initial announced plan to build 100 fast charging stations for electric vehicles in Germany. The new plan is to add 200 such stations, as well as increase the number of hydrogen filling stations in the country from the 80 it has promised thus far.

The EV fast chargers will be positioned in existing Shell filling stations, mainly in the north of Germany, around Hamburg and Berlin. These ultra-fast chargers will have an output of 175 kW, and they will be installed by a Hamburg-based company called Adler Smart Solutions.

This is just part of Shell’s claimed commitment to shift some of its attention towards “new energies,” an initiative it’s investing up to $3-billion per year into. . . .

Shell isn’t the only oil company that has been investing in EV-related infrastructure, although others have been a bit more cautious. BP invested $5-million into FreeWire, a manufacturer of electric vehicle charging solutions, and is looking to buy up EV charging networks in Europe, while Chevron invested in ChargePoint and Total followed in Shell’s footsteps by announcing plans to build 300 charging stations on the Old Continent.

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Oilpan4 said:

Anything that starts out "the government should start"... the answer is no.

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Oilpan4 said:

Anything that starts out "the government should start"... the answer is no.

If you want it, tell your state government to do it.

Plus doesn't tesla already have a cross country network of chargers that covers most of the nation?

I didn't buy an EV to drive cross country.

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roussir said:

Oilpan4 said:

Anything that starts out "the government should start"... the answer is no.

If you want it, tell your state government to do it.

Plus doesn't tesla already have a cross country network of chargers that covers most of the nation?

I didn't buy an EV to drive cross country.

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States cannot print money (that is, do deficit-funded stimulus/infrastructure investments). The federal government can and it should.

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Oilpan4 said:

This is the kind of stuff I think of when the government tries to provide some service.
https://wjla.com/news/local/metro-38-million-5-years-bike-racks?fbclid=IwAR0irZSNawGMxRHknF_BJzTRJTATu30bbl6ggEOaC-8GkR2Y9xFwV5AuQ7w

They will take something that seems too simple to screw up and turn it into a scandle.

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WetEV said:

Oilpan4 said:

This is the kind of stuff I think of when the government tries to provide some service.
https://wjla.com/news/local/metro-38-million-5-years-bike-racks?fbclid=IwAR0irZSNawGMxRHknF_BJzTRJTATu30bbl6ggEOaC-8GkR2Y9xFwV5AuQ7w

They will take something that seems too simple to screw up and turn it into a scandle.

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Even spellcheck fails.

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Oilpan4 said:

I'm glad the only point you have to argue is my spelling.

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roussir said:

Oilpan4 said:

Anything that starts out "the government should start"... the answer is no.

If you want it, tell your state government to do it.

Plus doesn't tesla already have a cross country network of chargers that covers most of the nation?

I didn't buy an EV to drive cross country.

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States cannot print money (that is, do deficit-funded stimulus/infrastructure investments). The federal government can and it should.

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Canada investing $8M in Ontario’s EV charging network

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The government of Canada is investing $8 million to build 160 fast chargers at 73 locations for EVs across the province of Ontario.

Funding is provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative (EVAFIDI), and will allow Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to build one of the province’s largest EV networks.

The new investment . . . will . . . help reach a target of 100% of passenger zero-emission vehicle sales by 2040.

To reach this target, the Government of Canada is investing more than $300 million to support the establishment of a coast-to-coast network of fast-chargers for EVs, charging stations at apartment buildings, public places and workplaces, and hydrogen stations in metropolitan centers.

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California bill aims to cut permit time for EV charging stations

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California has by far the most electric cars of any state, but the permitting process for new charging stations can take substantially longer than elsewhere. A new bill introduced in the California State Assembly aims to address that.

The bill would streamline the permitting process for charging stations by amending Section 65850.75 of California's Government Code, which covers zoning.

It would require any application to be automatically deemed complete after five business days if no issues are found, and approved after 15 business days if regulators have not made findings showing an adverse impact from the construction.

The bill was applauded by Electrify America, the entity created to spend $2 billion of Volkswagen diesel-emissions penalties on zero-emission vehicle infrastructure.

In a statement, Electrify America said the permitting process for its stations can take 70% longer in California than the rest of the nation. Stations must be redesigned 30% more often in California, and end up costing 20% more, according to Electrify America.

California already has a law on the books to streamline permitting (AB1236, passed in 2015) but Electrify America claims 80% of California cities and counties are not following it. . . .

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DaveinOlyWA said:

roussir said:

Oilpan4 said:

Anything that starts out "the government should start"... the answer is no.

If you want it, tell your state government to do it.

Plus doesn't tesla already have a cross country network of chargers that covers most of the nation?

I didn't buy an EV to drive cross country.

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States cannot print money (that is, do deficit-funded stimulus/infrastructure investments). The federal government can and it should.

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Ahh, beat me to it. We all seem to forget that w/o Uncle Sam, most of us would have nothing including 90% of the freeways we have, bridges we cross and so on. For something on a nationwide scale, it should be done "nationally" Getting even a handful of states on the same page would take years even if everyone involved was overwhelmingly in favor.

The West Coast Green Highway is a perfect example. Everyone was on board with the idea BIG TIME but different legislature, budget and meeting schedules got in the way and California (a MAJOR pro EV state) fell to the wayside and that is only THREE states. Getting a dozen on the same page?? LOL!!!

The national program proposed is EXACTLY how we should be doing it simply because if they don't do it, it won't get done. Relying on automobile manufacturers to do it? LOL!!

Relying on states to do it? LOL!!

Relying on the current rag tag group of public charging systems to do it? LOL!!

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Oilpan4 said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

roussir said:

States cannot print money (that is, do deficit-funded stimulus/infrastructure investments). The federal government can and it should.

Click to expand...

Ahh, beat me to it. We all seem to forget that w/o Uncle Sam, most of us would have nothing including 90% of the freeways we have, bridges we cross and so on. For something on a nationwide scale, it should be done "nationally" Getting even a handful of states on the same page would take years even if everyone involved was overwhelmingly in favor.

The West Coast Green Highway is a perfect example. Everyone was on board with the idea BIG TIME but different legislature, budget and meeting schedules got in the way and California (a MAJOR pro EV state) fell to the wayside and that is only THREE states. Getting a dozen on the same page?? LOL!!!

The national program proposed is EXACTLY how we should be doing it simply because if they don't do it, it won't get done. Relying on automobile manufacturers to do it? LOL!!

Relying on states to do it? LOL!!

Relying on the current rag tag group of public charging systems to do it? LOL!!

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I have already said numerous times the roads benefit everyone, even people who don't have a car.
Electric vehicle owners are a special interest group, it only benefits them. Even the plug in hybrid people won't waste their time charging when they could be filling up with gas and getting back on the road.
I don't use any public charging.
Tesla seems to have figured it out.
I didn't buy an electric vehicle to go on road trips. If I'm going to go on a road trip I want to cover about 1,000 miles in a day. Wife's hybrid gets about 40mpg at 75mph with about 600 miles between fill ups.
Putting in chargers is the perfect excuse to tax electric vehicles more. I don't want to pay for chargers I didn't ask for and don't use.

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Oilpan4 said:

Big truck chargers probably aren't going to be usable on cars.

If anything compressed natural gas or diesel trucks that can also use natural gas intake fumigation will push out trucks that burn straight diesel. Last time I went to a natural gas station, which was around a year ago the natural gas at retail was $1.40 per gallon of diesel equivalent. For a trucking company pumping up their own trucks $3 worth of natural gas would replace about 7 gallons of diesel, plus cost of electricity to compress it and what ever fill station maintenance runs.

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DaveinOlyWA said:

Oilpan4 said:

Big truck chargers probably aren't going to be usable on cars.

If anything compressed natural gas or diesel trucks that can also use natural gas intake fumigation will push out trucks that burn straight diesel. Last time I went to a natural gas station, which was around a year ago the natural gas at retail was $1.40 per gallon of diesel equivalent. For a trucking company pumping up their own trucks $3 worth of natural gas would replace about 7 gallons of diesel, plus cost of electricity to compress it and what ever fill station maintenance runs.

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I think Tesla and others will blow up your "if anything"

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Daimler Trucks E-Mobility Group starts global initiative for electric-truck charging infrastructure

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. . . The initial focus is on charging stations installed at the depots of truck customers.

Within the framework of the initiative, the E-Mobility Group is bringing together the main players—e-truck customers, power grid operators, energy suppliers, charging hardware manufacturers and charging software providers—thus promoting shared infrastructure solutions for truck customers within the network.

The focus of activities is currently on the United States and Europe. Japan is the next market to follow. The first workshops have been taking place for some time now. The first joint pilot projects for setting up charging infrastructure at truck depots have also already been implemented or are in preparation. . . .

The close dialog between the main players is also intended to speed up previously lengthy and complex planning and application processes for network connections. In addition, the participants are also concerned with aspects such as optimized load management of the electricity grid and sustainable electricity supply.

The sooner and more exactly the energy suppliers and power grid operators know what customers’ infrastructure requirements will be, the faster and more efficiently they can build them up. The initiative’s measures therefore include the development of standard concepts that cover common charging profiles. Different energy suppliers can use these concepts, significantly reducing their planning time. So far, infrastructure projects have mostly been treated as individual cases.

In addition, standardized and optimized forms accelerate the approval procedures for the network operators. Fast processes mean reduced costs for all involved. Other approaches, such as the best possible design of the interfaces between charging infrastructure, vehicle and grid, as well as the possibilities of controlling the grid load and thus ensuring the—as sustainable as possible—supply of electricity, are also addressed within the initiative.

In rural areas and when there is a high demand for electricity, it is also important to ensure charging reliability, which is another of the initiative’s subject areas. . . .

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