This week has seen historical commitments to electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). In California, the Public Service Commission approved Investor Owned Utilities’ plans to invest $750 million dollars in EV charging and rebate proposals. The revolutionary plan to advance the electrification of the transportation system is being hailed as “one of the largest and most well-thought-out approaches to advancing electrification of vehicles.”
Closer to home, Duke Energy North Carolina (DENC) will spend $25 million dollars in electric vehicle infrastructure. DENC originally sought $7.8 billion in cost recovery for a wide variety of “grid improvements” but regulators agreed to a $2.5 billion dollar plan that includes the EV portion.
It turns out an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Researchers have postulated for years that it is cheaper to reduce global warming than adapting to it. A study released in Nature quantifies the claim that mitigation efforts–such as providing an incentive to sell electric cars–are a better way to spend money than on adaptation efforts.
Along the lines of selling new cars and developing the infrastructure to charge them, Fiat Chrysler has announced it will launch over 30 EVs and hybrids by 2022. The manufacturer will invest $10.5 billion to electrify 15-20 percent of its models with “heavy electrification.” Although the move is admittedly mostly to comply with stricter emission standards worldwide, we’ll take it.
Results from a recent Twitter poll are in: more electric cars get charged at work than at public chargers. Granted, it’s not a controlled, peer-reviewed study, but workplace charging is a huge benefit to employees. It extends their all-electric range and makes driving an EV possible for some drivers.
Elon Musk Elaborates on Tesla’s Model S/X ‘Bioweapon Defense Mode’ and Model 3 Air Filter is an interesting read. This story is based on a tweet from a Tesla driver in Orlando, Florida.
Speaking of Orlando, if you’re looking for something to do there next weekend (June 16) besides seeing the Mouse, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) is having an Electric Car Guest Drive event where you can test drive an EV and learn more about their benefits. To secure a spot you must register, link here.