EV Charging Earns Nearly $1 Billion In Investments In California, New York

EV

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

There just might be something to this electric vehicle (EV) revolution after all – at least New York and California seem to think so.

Greenbiz is reporting that between the two states, nearly $1 billion will be spent adding EV-charging stations to the nation’s infrastructure. In California, more than $750 million of public money is being invested in three of the state’s largest utilities, while in New York $250 million is being allocated to the New York Power Authority (NYPA).

As the invaluable Katie Fehrenbacher notes in her article, the decision to invest with utilities and power authorities reflects what could be the rapidly changing role of those entities as the grid modernizes and mobility becomes one of the primary drivers of that change.

As Fehrenbacher also notes:

Research firms like Bloomberg New Energy Finance are predicting that a third of the world’s vehicles will be electric by 2040. To meet this demand and adequately charge such dramatic growth in electric vehicles, more public charging infrastructure must be deployed.

Currently, there are between 50,000 to 70,000 chargers publicly available and at workplaces in the United States (not including home chargers). Including home chargers, there are close to 475,000 charging ports across the country.

As she notes, not everyone is happy. In what perhaps is the perfect summation of the other side of the EV debate, Fehrenbacher writes:

Not everyone agrees with the use of such sizable public funds for EV charging. The California Independent Oil Marketers Association called the CPUC’s move a “$500 million money grab.”

The entire article is worth your time. It’s a perfect encapsulation of where the country is – and perhaps should be – in terms of the EV revolution that is currently sweeping the world. The United States, thanks to visionary leaders in states like California and New York, has the chance to lead the revolution instead of follow it.

More:

A wave of electric vehicle charging investment is here

EVs Will Start School Later This Year

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: Blue Bird Corporation, whose iconic logo you’ve probably seen on a school bus near you, is diving bravely into the future by unveiling the electric versions of its Type C & D configuration school buses.

  • According to CleanTechnica, Blue Bird is reportedly the only U.S. company offering electric buses in those configurations.
  • You could see these buses delivering your kids to school as soon as this fall.

EVs

SolarWakeup’s View:  Pretty soon, you may not hear the churning of diesel engines as school buses stop at the end of your driveway to pick up your precious baby for school – not if school-bus company Blue Bird has its way.

The company announced the unveiling the latest version of its plug-in EVs in all of their yellow glory, adhering to the usual school bus dimensions, minus the snub nose of old. Powered by 160 kWh battery packs allow the new buses to go 120 miles on one charge, which should be more than enough for most school bus routes with which I am familiar.

What makes these newest EVs so groundbreaking, however, goes beyond transporting children. Right now, EVs – particularly plug-in EVs – are still outside of most people’s daily experience, so it’s often hard for people to understand how important they are to the future of transportation in the United States.

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But now that they’ll be transporting kids to school? EVERYONE will know what EVs are. And we all know that once parents discover how good they are for their children’s environment, they will demand all the school buses be electric. Once that happens, you know they will proliferate everywhere.

I’ve argued for several years that a move like this would be the final push EVs need to become entirely mainstream. That moment finally appears to be here.

More:

Blue Bird Now Taking Orders For Electric School Buses To Be Delivered In 2018 (CleanTechnica)

Proterra CEO Predicts EV Adoption Timeline

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: In this edition of the SolarWakeup Live! podcast, Yann Brandt sat down with Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra, an electric vehicle manufacturer currently focused on building buses and driving and discussed:

  • why China is so far ahead of the United States in EV development,
  • how Tesla made it from being a small startup to the electric vehicle behemoth it is today (Popple was present at the creation), and
  • how soon will there be an EV in every driveway (OK, that last one’s made up, but they do talk about how quickly mass-transit EVs will be adopted)

SolarWakeup’s View:  I will never tire of listening to energy visionaries describe the future in terms that I, with my limited understanding of my day-to-day life let alone the FUTURE, haven’t even conceived of yet. And so I listened with great interest to Managing Editor Yann Brandt’s podcast interview with Ryan Popple from Proterra, an electric vehicle (EV) company dedicated to putting electric, mass transit buses in all U.S. cities in the near future. 

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The whole interview is worth listening to, but as you can see from the bullets above, three things really captured my imagination:

First, Popple talks about what it was like to be present at the creation (or at least the early years) at Tesla. What I was most interested in, honestly, was his contention that you don’t necessarily have to have the best technology when you first start a business as long as you have the top intellectual talent throughout the company to get you there eventually.

It’s a sentiment Popple shares with Jim Collins, former Stanford Business School professor and best-selling author of the book Good to Great: Put the best people you can hire in key positions first; then the products will follow.

Second, Popple talks about why China is so far ahead of the United States in EV development. His explanation will be obvious to anyone who ever sat in their college dorms at 2 a.m. discussing the merits of communism vs capitalism and coming to the conclusion that ultimately, capitalism wins – eventually.

Third, Yann asks Popple when he thinks EV development, at least on the mass transit front that Proterra serves, will hit 50% of all the purchases of those types of vehicles. Your jaw may well drop when you hear his answer (I know mine did).

Oh, and he has a prediction of what long-haul trucking will look like in 20 years that will blow your mind.

More:

 

Can EVs Save The Utility Model?

Proterra