BUSINESS / MARKET FOCUS
36 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBU TOR • Feb. 17
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dle EVSE sales differently,” Woods continued. “Some co-ops offer a dif- ferent rate for off-peak charge time. There is an electric co-op in North Carolina that has a service arm of the company, a separate entity that does electrical work, including security sys- tems and water heater change-outs. It bids the installation of EV charging stations as well. Some utilities put chargers at their facilities for the con- venience of their customers who drive EVs. It’s good PR for the companies as much as anything.” Doran noted that utilities in New York have installed charging stations along interstate highways—a plan that’s on hold in Missouri at the mo- ment. The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) stalled a proposal by the state’s largest electric power provider, Ameren Missouri, to install EV charging islands halfway across the state along I- 70. The utility pro- posed to charge $2.50 for a 15-minute charge at a Fast Charge port and $. 30 for a 15-minute Level 2 charge. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch re- ported PSC Chairman Daniel Hall’s quandary: “I think it’s unclear whether it should be a regulated industry or an open, unregulated, competitive market. As we all know, the commission exists to set prices where there is monopoly service pro- vided. Where there is a competitive
QA
Electric vehicle (EV) technology has proven intriguing
and has caught the attention
of many in a world seeking
to reduce reliance on fossil
fuel. Yet its full adoption as
a means of transport in
America has struggled for
various reasons. Here,
Jeremy Michalek, professor
of engineering and public
policy and mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon
University’s College of Engineering in Pittsburgh, and director of the school’s Vehicle
Electrification Group and Design Decisions Laboratory,
offers his insight into the
market:
Q: What do you see as the
market potential for EVs
over the next three to five
years?
A: Plug-in EVs currently represent just a sliver of the U.S.
fleet, but the share is growing. In the near term, EVs will
not be the primary way that
the U.S. fleet reduces emissions, but if we want to
achieve climate goals in the
long run, we need to transition to technologies capable
of operating on near-zero-carbon sources of energy.
EVs are one of the few technologies capable of doing
that.
Q: Where will we see
growth in EV usage?
A: I expect most of the near-term growth to be in cars
(particularly smaller cars)
because technical and economic challenges are compounded when trying to
electrify trucks. State zero-emission vehicle mandates
and subsidies are driving
regional adoption, particularly
in California. We see the
largest benefits for EVs in
mild-weather regions, where
range and efficiency are
maximized; urban areas with
heavy stop-and-go driving
are where the advantages of
EVs over conventional vehicles are most dramatic. EVs
also do the most good in
regions with cleaner electricity, like the West Coast.
Q: Will EVs be more confined to public fleets rather
than private ownership, or
do you think they will eventually catch on?
A: If we are going to meet
climate targets, we’ll need
technologies like EVs and fuel
cell vehicles beyond public
fleets. Private sales of EVs
are rising, but there are lim-
its. We estimate that perhaps
half of U.S. vehicles lack ded-
icated access to off-street
parking at an owned resi-
dence where a charger could
be installed, so there may be
significant infrastructure
barriers to widespread EV
adoption.
Q: Is there anything else
you’d like to comment on
regarding EVs?
A: EVs are only as clean
as the electricity used to
power them. For example,
EVs charged via coal-fired
power plants can be responsible for more air-pollution-related deaths than efficient
gasoline vehicles. For that
reason, we need to continue
to push hard on cleaning up
the electricity grid for EVs
to provide benefits for climate and air quality across
the board. ;
Romeo, a freelance writer
based in Chesapeake, Va.,
writes on business and technology topics. Reach him at Jim
Romeo.net. Michalek can be
reached at jmichalek@cmu.edu.
A conversation
with Jeremy Michalek
of the Vehicle
Electrification Group
at Carnegie Mellon
by Jim Romeo