Building Out Electric Vehicle Charging In The West Means All Hands On Deck
Government agencies, utilities, automakers and technology providers alike are working hard to establish plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging networks to support the growing EV wave nationwide. Electrify America recently completed its first cross-country EV charging route, the U.S. Department of Energy hosts a charging station locator, and Apple AAPL -0.2% launched a routing feature last month to its Maps app to help EV drivers locate charge ports along the way. While these solutions are promising, the industry still faces a major roadblock to the carefree cross-country road trip: the West.
While the eastern half of the United States is home to more metro areas and greater opportunities for intercity EV travel, many rural areas throughout the West lack sufficient electrical infrastructure and other amenities to support sustainable, widespread EV charging. It is home to some of the country’s most popular national parks and tourist attractions, but the current deficit of charging stations discourages EV road trippers, especially as the global health crisis continues to halt major air travel.
Further, the dearth of places to plug in also presents hurdles for permanent residents considering EVs — the majority of consumers cite range anxiety as their primary reason for avoiding purchasing an electric car. Yet, long term projections for the national EV sales remain steady, highlighting the need to invest in infrastructure now as its usage becomes more popular.
There are unique challenges with increased electric mobility and EV infrastructure development in more rural states like North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, which aren’t at play in other parts of the country. In these expansive areas, extreme temperatures and high elevation can negatively affect battery range, though exact impacts are still being tested and understood.
Not only does the West’s landscape impact battery life, but its vast expanse proves problematic for the connectivity of EV chargers once installed. By connecting EV chargers to the cloud, companies can create a network of charging stations to optimize performance and streamline the user experience. This is especially difficult in rural areas with weak or nonexistent cellular coverage, which further disincentivizes charging companies to build stations there.
Source : forbes
