TED Magazine - February 2017

BUSINESS / MARKET FOCUS
36 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBU TOR • Feb. 17 www.tEDmag.com

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.