GoFundMe-ing a fast charger?

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Pigwich

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
240
Location
Southern California
How dumb / possible would it be to do something like a GoFundMe to get fast chargers put in places that people need them? Like... Utah, or bigger units in northern California? Or between LA and west? Would a charging company come out and do a matching fund?
 
There are a lot of stakeholders in public charging infrastructure. Beyond the cost of the hardware, there is installation, 24/7 support, connectivity, maintenance, utility power, back office, and billing for the useful life of the site. And locations are better if part of a system than as a one-off location. Crowd sourcing does not seem well suited to that complexity.

To me the best way to incentivize expansion of public chargers is to use the existing system(s). I do not get “drive the Prius” value out of my public charging dollar, but I use them when I travel, and plan travel that uses them. In California, EVgo seems to be placing useful equipment in useful locations, so I signed up for their subscription even though I do not use it frequently enough to justify the expense. I consider it my donation to future infrastructure expansion.
 
Pigwich said:
How dumb / possible would it be to do something like a GoFundMe to get fast chargers put in places that people need them? Like... Utah, or bigger units in northern California? Or between LA and west? Would a charging company come out and do a matching fund?

There's progress on the horizon.

California - Here is a map of state funded fast chargers:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1VEJLK0-wcAhWV8Q0MirTLULd5mg&ll=37.81957353741525%2C-119.38891739999997&z=6

California has 2-3 different programs and most of these will have their chargers up and running within 12-24 months.

Nevada and Utah are also pretty aggressive. Nevada is finishing Vegas to Reno this year along Hwy 95. Phase 2 starts next year, which covers I-80 and Hwy 50. Utah has most of I-15 covered and is now working on getting to Colorado. Other Western states are also working on infrastructure.

There's also Electrify America, which is getting very aggressive. Here's their map:

https://charge.electrifyamerica.com/sitemap/index.html

I'm pretty impressed about how quickly they are implementing. They've been announcing 10+ locations per month and install 2-6 150kw chargers per location. They're installing east to west, so the Midwest is getting most of the action right now.
 
Geo said:
Pigwich said:
How dumb / possible would it be to do something like a GoFundMe to get fast chargers put in places that people need them? Like... Utah, or bigger units in northern California? Or between LA and west? Would a charging company come out and do a matching fund?

There's progress on the horizon.

California - Here is a map of state funded fast chargers:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1VEJLK0-wcAhWV8Q0MirTLULd5mg&ll=37.81957353741525%2C-119.38891739999997&z=6

California has 2-3 different programs and most of these will have their chargers up and running within 12-24 months.

Nevada and Utah are also pretty aggressive. Nevada is finishing Vegas to Reno this year along Hwy 95. Phase 2 starts next year, which covers I-80 and Hwy 50. Utah has most of I-15 covered and is now working on getting to Colorado. Other Western states are also working on infrastructure.

There's also Electrify America, which is getting very aggressive. Here's their map:

https://charge.electrifyamerica.com/sitemap/index.html

I'm pretty impressed about how quickly they are implementing. They've been announcing 10+ locations per month and install 2-6 150kw chargers per location. They're installing east to west, so the Midwest is getting most of the action right now.

Calif's CEC program sites were approved in 2016 , and as far as I can tell only ONE has been installed so far (off I-5, in the very, very north). Don't hold your breath (although ' ChargePoint ' did chime in and say that "all ChargePoint DCFC stations on I-5 to be active by October 2018! ", so maybe there is hope).
 
SparkE said:
Calif's CEC program sites were approved in 2016 , and as far as I can tell only ONE has been installed so far (off I-5, in the very, very north). Don't hold your breath (although ' ChargePoint ' did chime in and say that "all ChargePoint DCFC stations on I-5 to be active by October 2018! ", so maybe there is hope).

There's a lot more than just one charger installed. The Bay Area to Lake Tahoe is completely covered on both I-80 and Hwy 50 (EVgo with CEC funds). The gap up to Oregon has just been closed (Chargepoint with CEC funds). Most of Hwy 99 is covered...

Still a long way to go, but progress is being made.

But... by all means, start a GoFundMe.
 
Geo said:
SparkE said:
Calif's CEC program sites were approved in 2016 , and as far as I can tell only ONE has been installed so far (off I-5, in the very, very north). Don't hold your breath (although ' ChargePoint ' did chime in and say that "all ChargePoint DCFC stations on I-5 to be active by October 2018! ", so maybe there is hope).

There's a lot more than just one charger installed. The Bay Area to Lake Tahoe is completely covered on both I-80 and Hwy 50 (EVgo with CEC funds). The gap up to Oregon has just been closed (Chargepoint with CEC funds). Most of Hwy 99 is covered...

Still a long way to go, but progress is being made.

I was NOT referring to every DCFC - I specifically referred to the CEC-funded DCFCs - the ones OK'd in 2016.

The Sac-to-Tahoe (I-80 and US-50) EVgo sites that exist today were funded by "Drive The Arc" : a separate funding program separate from the CEC program (in fact, Japan is funding a portion!). There are CEC sites planned/projected for those routes (ChargePoint) : they aren't live yet.

There wasn't a "gap up to Oregon" - there have been DCFCs all the way up I-5 from Williams (just N of Sacramento) for years (the "ChargePoint BMW & VW Express Corridor"). Although the "one site" that I pointedly mentioned was a 50 kW (finally!) DCFC installed by ChargePoint in Redding. There are new (and faster) DCFCs in the CEC plan for northern I-5 as well - ChargePoint and EVgo - they aren't live yet, though.

The already extant (as of July 2018) EVgo DCFCs on CA-99 also have nothing to do with the CEC funding and have been there for a while. There are more DCFCs in the CEC plan for CA-99 as well - EV Connect - they aren't live yet, though.
 
Many states are using the Electrify America\VW Settlement funds to add DCFC to major Interstates.

CO is targeting $85M over the next year on DCFC for I-25\I-70\I-76, and will be adding DCFC on scenic routes after that. CO is working with UT, MT, NM, WY on an Inter-State plan to ensure DCFC averaging every 90 miles or so along the major routes crossing the Mountain States. They are also using some of the funds for the Charge Ahead Colorado plan which provides reimbursement "grants" to government agencies and employers for installing L2 and L3 EVSEs.

A GFM approach might make sense if a commercial network provider were enlisted to use the funds to install and maintain the EVSEs. But, to try and do it without partnering with evGo, or ChargePoint or one of the network providers would be a frustrating effort given the maintenance and billing requirements.
 
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