EV Are Great for Hoosiers
Published on 11/13/2021
New jobs. Millions saved in energy costs. Cleaner communities. A smoother transition to electric vehicles. That’s why the REV Midwest Agreement is great news for all of us.
Did you catch Gov. Holcomb’s announcement on Sept 30? He and the governors of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio signed REV Midwest to promote a robust and equitable transition to electric vehicles by creating more wide-spread charging options. The agreement boasts better public health, substantial savings to even small businesses and low-income households and the hope that the Midwest can reinvigorate its role in auto manufacturing.
Imagine life for the first car buyers. If they were to use their cars to go long distances or into the country, they’d need more fuel stations. Without those, cars would be a hobby for the wealthy. The EV charging network across these five states will ensure that keep up with trends reported by car designers such as Volvo, GM, Ford, and Jaquar. They all plan to see only EV’s by the mid 2030’s. The fleet is changing and early EV buyers will welcome more options for charging.
Not all Americans have the disposition to be early adopters, so perhaps this will inspire more acceptance. WTHR reported that the network will result in over one hundred thousand new technician jobs, paying about eighty thousand dollars a year, at least that’s the national average reported by ZIPRecruiter and The Mobilists’ Steve Levine.- Like many other skilled technician jobs, these don’t require a four year college degree.
The EV transition benefits the average car owner through savings on fuel costs and a steep decline in operating costs. State-wide projections through 2050 add up to over three billion dollars in operating cost savings and five hundred million in utility cost savings.
Dr. Karen Gunther bought her EV after owning two hybrids. She tends to own cars for over ten years and realized as her last Prius’ lithium battery limped to its retirement during the shutdown that in ten years, she’d want to be driving an EV. She bought a Tesla, which she charges in her garage, using a dryer outlet she had installed. She’s been impressed at charging times and the low cost so far. It recharges fast when her battery power is low and slows as it approaches full charge. This helps from overcharging. She hasn’t seen a significant hike in her power bill either. In fact, most owners see only a thirty to sixty dollar increase monthly, far less than monthly refuels at the gas pump.
Most owners plug in at home, some install the dryer outlet adapters, others use the slower common 120V outlet. One charge lets Gunther take a round trip to Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette, and other cities, with charge to spare. She likes to know that her car is ready if her beloved cat Ms. Sushi should need an emergency visit to the vet.
Gunther’s Tesla calculates distance to charge for stops on her longer trips. She traveled to Cape Cod last summer and found that she could stop for a meal and recharge for efficiency. While the options for charging in the Midwest were harder to find, as she drove east she found stations with eight, even fifteen, charging slots. On average, a charge would cost her about fifteen dollars, though other stations charged more, and many had a fee if an owner left the car too long after charging completed. Naturally, that would prevent another car from accessing power.
Gunther has found that many charging stations are within walking distance of good restaurants. In Fort Wayne, one of the most beloved Italian restaurants has both Tesla and regular charging spots. Here in Crawfordsville, an EV can recharge while owners visit the library, shop or eat at our growing number of downtown restaurants.
By design, Gunther’s EV calculates trips, but she noted, “The car does do one uncomfortable thing – “she” calculates how much charge we need to make it to our final destination. She does NOT factor in how much we might need to get to the next charging station. I had assumed that a town as large as Paducah, KY would certainly have a Tesla charging station. It does NOT. The closest one is 36 miles away. Fortunately we had enough charge to get there, arriving on electron fumes.” All we have to do is to look ahead rather than trusting a specific place will have a charging station. As states commit to networks, she anticipates the problem will lessen as there are more charging stations. Or better yet, Governor Holcomb, scientists at Purdue University, and the German company Magment are partnering to create pavement that would charge EVs while they drove. Indiana hopes to be the first state to pilot the technology. No word yet on which roads will be the first location.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the net present value of cumulative net benefits from greater EV use in the state will exceed $3.6 billion state-wide by 2050. Of these total net benefits:
● $500 million will accrue to electric utility customers in the form of reduced electric bills, and
$3.2 billion will accrue directly to Indiana drivers in the form of reduced annual vehicle operating costs.
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana/indiana-midwest-electric-vehicle-charging-network-travel/531-25e6eb57-f80d-4a49-b290-fdd18b0dac3a
EVs by state
https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10962
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1133686_michigan-announces-wireless-charging-pilot-state-funded-ev-charging-network
Charging by pavement plan in Indiana
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1132979_wireless-ev-charging-via-highway-pavement-to-be-tested-in-indiana
Salaries to build the infrastructure: https://marker.medium.com/electric-vehicles-are-already-ushering-in-high-paying-jobs-no-college-required-790d75aa34f7
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/EV-Charging
Costs and Savings to individuals
https://www.investopedia.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-an-electric-car-5186285
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/patricia-valderrama/electric-vehicle-charging-101
Fees 2017 https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1108174_indiana-too-slaps-electric-cars-with-150-fee-for-not-using-gas
https://www.myev.com/research/interesting-finds/states-that-charge-extra-fees-to-own-an-electric-vehicle
To the state
EV Impact on Indiana
If Indiana EV adoption follows the moderate trajectory currently assumed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the net present value of cumulative net benefits from greater EV use in the state will exceed $3.6 billion state-wide by 2050. Of these total net benefits:
● $500 million will accrue to electric utility customers in the form of reduced electric bills, and
● $3.2 billion will accrue directly to Indiana drivers in the form of reduced annual vehicle operating costs.
If EV sales in Indiana were high enough to get the state onto a trajectory to reduce light-duty GHG emissions by 70-80% from current levels by 2050 (80×50), the net present value of cumulative net benefits from greater EV use in Indiana could exceed $32.2 billion statewide by 2050. Of these total net benefits:
● $5.6 billion would accrue to electric utility customers in the form of reduced electric bills, and
● $26.5 billion would accrue directly to Indiana drivers in the form of reduced annual vehicle operating costs.
Range
https://afdc.energy.gov/data/
INDIANA’s plans and capacity
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/environment/2021/07/19/electric-vehicles-indiana-utilities-get-5-5-m-charging-stations/8004207002/
EV Driver resources
https://pluginsites.org/trips/