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Colorado’s New EV Plan

by Sarah Kelly 0 Comments

Colorado rolled out their 2020 EV plan on Earth Day! A lot has happened since the state’s first EV Plan came out in 2018. According to the Colorado Energy Office:

  • The number of EVs registered in Colorado more than doubled from 11,238 in August 2017 to over 24,000 in June 2019,
  • Awarded a contract to ChargePoint for the build-out of EV fast-charging stations at 33 sites along Colorado’s major transportation corridors.
    • We’re still waiting for the SW Colorado fast chargers planned under this award to be installed in Cortez, Durango, Silverton and Pagosa Springs. I’m told they should be in by this summer, but Covid19 may have further stalled progress.
  • Adoption of a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) standard in August 2019.

I haven’t had a chance to read the plan yet, but you can find Colorado’s 2020 EV Plan here. The vision for the Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020 is:

Large-scale transition of Colorado’s transportation system to zero emission vehicles, with a long-term goal of 100% of light-duty vehicles being electric and 100% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles being zero emission. 

Colorado EV 2020 webpage

This will be accomplished by taking actions to meet five goals: 

  • 1) Increasing the number of light-duty EVs to 940,000 by 2030
  • 2) Developing plans for transitioning medium-duty (MDV), heavy-duty (HDV) and transit vehicles to ZEVs
  • 3) Developing an EV infrastructure goal by undertaking a gap analysis to identify the type and number of charging stations needed across the state to meet 2030 light-duty vehicle (LDV), MDV and HDV goals
  • 4) State government agencies meeting directives and goals related to EVs from the updated Greening State Government Executive Order
  • 5) Developing a roadmap to full electrification of the light-duty vehicle fleet in Colorado

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New Mexico Charges Up EV Infrastructure!

by Sarah Kelly 0 Comments

Some great Earth Day news from New Mexico for EV drivers! New Mexico awarded the maximum amount allowed under the Volkswagen settlement agreement, 2.7 million, for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects. More than 116 new charging stations will be built in 23 of New Mexico’s 33 counties.

In a rural state like New Mexico, installing charging infrastructure is critical to encouraging and increasing the use of electric vehicles, resulting in fewer emissions and better air quality, as well as decreasing the state’s contribution to global warming.

NMED’s VW Settlement Funding Recipient Announcement

The chargers planned for the Four Corners area include:

  • Farmington – Level 2 at Farmington Workforce Development Connection,
  • Five DC Fast Chargers (DCFC) and 11 Level 2 chargers for various municipalities and the Picuris and Taos Pueblos in the Kit Carson Electric Coop service area,
  • Santa Fe – Several new Level 2 locations,
  • Albuquerque – Many new Level 2 locations, including the UNM Hospital and UNM Campus, and DCFCs at the Sunport Airport and Bernallio Road Runner Station,
  • Los Alamos – DCFC and a Level 2 at the White Rock Visitors Center,
  • AND forty-nine new DCFC stations across the state.

The Earth Day Announcement didn’t include a timeline for the installation of these charging stations. Keep an eye on PlugShare over the next year to see where they pop up.

Here’s a link to the complete list of charging station locations. And here’s a link to NM Environment Department’s full announcement.

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April DEVC Newsletter – with CO Legislative Updates

by Sarah Kelly 0 Comments
A gathering of Teslas in Durango, CO

I hope everyone is weathering the Covid 19 shutdowns well, and if you’re able, helping those who aren’t in whatever ways you can. It’s saddening to see how many workers deemed essential to our economy are the same workers who have no or limited health insurance and paid sick leave. It’s my hope that when this time of crisis is over, we re-evaluate how we value and reward people’s work, whether it’s a migrant farm worker picking our fruits and vegetables in the field, the person behind the cash register or stocking the shelves at our grocery stores and pharmacies, people who give care and comfort to our elderly and children, or the janitorial and cleaning staff that keep our public buildings and medical centers clean and sanitary.

One thing remaining consistent this month is the arrival of the Denver Electric Vehicle Council’s newsletter. It includes a section on Colorado Legislative Update related to EVs which I greatly appreciate for letting me know when to make my voice heard in the statehouse on EV-related issues. I also enjoy reading about what other EV groups and related businesses are doing in other parts of the state.

DEVC Newsletter, Apr ’20Download

In this issue, David at DEVC asks if it’s time to retire the newsletter. I hope it continues in some form. I like the pdf format as a document I can scan over and read the items that catch my eye. Please take a minute to look this one over and email David your feedback on if and how you’d like him to continue the newsletter. You can also leave a comment on this post if that’s easier. I’ll make sure David gets your feedback.

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EVs under threat from COVID?

by Gordon Rodda 0 Comments

Today’s New York Times (10 March 2020) contains two articles about EVs. Although the articles appear independently, they speak to each other. In the automotive section is one entitled “Tesla’s Success in Europe Catches Industry Off Guard”. It notes that the Model 3 is, after only a few months on the European market, the third-highest selling car in Europe, “outselling competing models by BMW, Mercedes, and Audi.” In contrast, the coronavirus news section of the Times highlights the slowing economy and European government efforts to stimulate demand: “Oliver Zipse, the chief executive of BMW, said last week that European governments should put less pressure on automakers to stop selling cars with internal combustion engines….The most important thing the government should do is not prematurely rule out some kinds of propulsion.”

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CO Legislators Need to Hear From You Today, Sunday 3/8/20, or Monday morning – And Insight from CO Senators Against the EV Bill.

by Sarah Kelly 4 Comments
Happy Rural Colorado EV Drivers in Durango, CO

Two bills to speak up on here. Sorry for the late notice! One is HB 20-1155, which requires home builders to offer buyers of newly constructed homes options to install electric wiring for EV chargers and solar. No one is making anyone actually DO anything – just making sure buyers of new homes are reminded to consider if they want these facilities at the moment when it would be easiest to add the wiring to their homes. Write to your State Representative in this case – You can find them at: https://leg.colorado.gov/findmylegislator

The second is SB20-167, which creates a new exception that allows the ownership, operation, or control of a motor vehicle dealer if the manufacturer makes only electric motor vehicles and has no franchised dealers of the dealer’s line-make. This exception should appease Senators, such as the one quoted below, that this bill won’t hurt existing car dealers. Both bills are described in the pdf below. This bill is now headed to the House. See Bob Andersen’s comment below for who to contact.

Bill(s) Update 3-6-20Download

After I wrote my State Senator, Don Coram of CO senate district 6, I got the response below from Senator Ray Scott, of senate district 7, which covers Mesa County, CO. I assume it also reflects Mr. Coram’s views, because he didn’t respond to me independently.

A main reason why I believe this bill is unnecessary is that Tesla, with a Colorado dealers license, has done just fine. I do believe there is a future for electric vehicles in certain markets, but they leave much to be desired for rural consumers and commercial applications. With so many current dealers already selling electric vehicles I see no need to destroy the current franchise agreements. That being said, the way that SB20-167 is currently written, I do not believe it would be in the best interest of the motoring public. 

Ray Scott, Colorado Senator SD 7

Even if you don’t make the deadline to comment on the bills above, it would be worth contacting your rural Colorado senator to let them know you are a rural consumer, their constituent, and that an electric vehicle meets your needs well and you’d appreciate more EV choices from dealers and local support for charging infrastructure. Unless you drive a Tesla with their distinctive look, most people and senators probably don’t even recognize your car as an EV. They likely are not aware of how many EV drivers reside in their districts.

Contact Senators Don Coram at don.coram.senate@state.co.us and Ray Scott at scottforcolorado@gmail.com. Write them both since they seem to be voting as a block on this one.

Thanks go again to J. David McNeil of the Denver Electric Vehicle Council for keeping an eye on the Colorado state legislature!

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CO Event- GHG Emissions Road Map & Transportation Electrification

by newev2019 0 Comments

From the folks at 4CORE: Will Toor, the Director of the Colorado Energy Office. Weds. March 11th at La Plata County Administration Building from 1:30- 4pm. A Ride and Drive will be happening simultaneously in the parking lot from 2-3:30pm…it’s all free!

EV owners are welcome to come to the Ride and Drive, they just can’t take participants for a test drive. We should have both a new Leaf and a Bolt at the event.

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EV Direct to Customer Sales in CO, SB20-167, Comment TODAY, or tomorrow morning :-)

by Sarah Kelly 0 Comments

Your comment to your state senator (For those in SW Colorado, our state senator is Don Coram, and you can email him at: don.coram.senate@state.co.us) IS NEEDED BEFORE 10 AM tomorrow (Monday, February 24). Mr. Coram has voted against state EV legislation in the past. Please send him a note to let him know you’re his constituent and your views on bill SB20-167.

Want some pros & cons on this bill? See https://coloradosun.com/2020/02/17/electric-vehicle-makers-direct-sales-colorado-bill/

This just in from Denver Electric Vehicle Counsel:

This is an update on the progress of the above bill, “Electric Motor Vehicle Manufacturer & Dealer” – Concerning increasing consumer access to electric motor vehicles by allowing manufacturers to sell their own electric motor vehicles directly to consumers.
The Senate Transportation & Energy hearing was held on this bill on Tuesday the 18th. There were about 30 individuals testifying, at 3 minutes each, with a split of about 50/50 “For” and “Against”, which lasted over 2 hours. The Committee voted to send it unamended to the Committee of the Whole (the Senate Floor) by a vote of 3 to 2.

On Friday the 21st it was on the Senate Floor for the Second Reading, with the debate lasting for about an hour. The bill was amended and you can see the text of the bill at https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2020A/bills/2020a_167_eng.pdf with the amendment double underlined on page 2. The Senate vote was very close at this Second Reading.

The Third Reading of this bill will be TOMORROW at 10:00 AM where it will pass or fail. If you would like to state your view of “For” or “Against” to your Senator, you should do it now, well before 10:00 AM tomorrow. You can find your Senator at https://leg.colorado.gov/findmylegislator and follow the directions.

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Battery Best Practices

by Sarah Kelly 1 Comment

When I got my first EV (2017 Nissan Leaf), I gathered from various sources there were things you should do and things you should avoid to extend your car’s battery life. Batteries make up about 35% of the cost of an EV, so you want to make them last. However, the owner’s manual was light on advice and the internet was full of conflicting information about what was important.

Nissan Leaf cutaway showing part of battery
By Tennen-Gas – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8249799

An EV-savvy friend told me the simplest rule was to keep your battery between 10% and 90%, and don’t let it sit at 100% charge for long time periods. When you fill it to the top, start drawing it down soon. That is good advice, but I like to know WHY a thing is important and WHO says so.

Finally, University of Michigan researchers have studied the issue and came up with some easy to understand best practices. Why should we care about treating our EV batteries right?

Battery degradation causes premature replacement or product retirement, resulting in environmental burdens from producing and processing new battery materials, as well as early end-of-life burdens.

Center for Sustainable Systems, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan researchers

Below are eight best practices as summarized by the Electrek.co article cited in the quote below. Follow the link to the article to learn more about the study.

Here are the 8 recommendations that we summarized from the paper. We note which brand of vehicle provided the guidance in its owner’s manual.

Journal of Energy Storage studies EV owner’s manuals, compiles best practices for batteries
  • Every manufacturer includes a warning about high temperatures, though different strategies are suggested. Most companies do not cite a specific high temperature in which to avoid vehicle operation. Those that mention a specific temperature use either 50° C / 122° F [Fiat-Chrysler] or 60 °C / 140° F [Tesla].
  • Plug in the car anytime it is hot, thereby allowing the battery cooling system to run as needed [Tesla and GM].
  • Avoid parking in the sun on hot days [Kia]. When the vehicle is plugged in, the BMS (battery management system) will measure the temperature and take the appropriate warming or cooling action before charging begins [Tesla, Ford, GM, Nissan, Honda], and may disable fast charging capabilities [Kia]. The researchers advise: When the vehicle is running or charging, the BMS will regulate the temperature of the batteries, so it is most important to be aware of high battery temperatures when the vehicle is parked while not charging.
  • Dealing with low temperatures is also cited by almost all EV owner’s manuals. Plugging in the vehicle when it is cold (below 0° C / 32° F) is recommended so that the battery heating system can run on grid power. The battery warmer will automatically activate below a specific temperature unless the battery is both not plugged in and under 15% charge (to avoid over-discharge) [Nissan].
  • Extremely low temperatures for extended periods may cause irreversible damage, necessitating battery replacement [Mercedes-Benz]. The lower temperature limit for batteries is cited as −25° C / -13° F [Nissan, Mercedes-Benz] or −30° C / -22° F [Tesla, Honda].
  • Over-discharging will typically not occur during operation. The BMS will turn off the car and cease operation before severe degradation occurs. However, if the “empty” battery is then left for an extended time without being recharged, the battery can enter an over-discharge state due to the slow self-discharge that occurs even when the battery is not operating. Some manufacturers are concrete, instructing owners not to leave the vehicle parked for more than 2 weeks with a low battery (20% state of charge) [Tesla, Mercedes-Benz].
  • If possible, don’t allow the battery to be run all the way down, or left idle for extended periods [BMW, Hyundai, Kia, and Honda].
  • The majority of manufacturers do not include information in their manuals explaining that fast charging can lead to accelerated battery degradation. Those that say use of fast chargers should be minimized to maintain battery life [Ford, Nissan, Kia, Honda].
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DEVC February Newsletter

by Sarah Kelly 0 Comments

The Denver Electric Vehicle Council’s (DEVC) February newsletter is out! It features a nice shout out to us here at EV4Corners.org. Thanks David and DEVC for your encouragement and EV enthusiasm! Download the newsletter using the button below. It also includes a funny video – Lynette’s Albuquerque test drives a Nissan Leaf.

Lynette! What do we have to do to get a fast charger in Cuba, NM?

DEVC-Newsletter-Feb-20Download
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