Page 42 - BusinessWest July 10, 2023

Power Play
Electric-vehicle Charging Stations Proliferating Across the Country
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
“The infrastructure is still very immature; it needs to be developed. There’s a lot of money out there from the federal government to support this, but it’s not happening at a rate we would like.”
Gary Rome understands the appeal of electric vehicles. Start with the long-term fuel savings. At a time when gas still costs around $3.50 per gallon, he said an electric
charge might cost around $1.25 for the same number of miles. “It’s a good deal for someone who drives a lot,” said Rome,
owner of Gary Rome Auto Group, which has a Hyundai dealership in Holyoke and a Kia dealership in Enfield, Conn. “As gas prices continue to be as huge as they are, the interest in electric vehicles is not going to wane.”
In addition, “the technology on the car is advanced. The performance is spectacular, and the response, the acceleration, is far superior on some of these electric vehicles as compared to ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicles.”
So, what — besides an initial sticker price higher than the average gas-powered vehicle — might make consumers hesitant to go electric? In many cases, it’s uncertainty about where they’ll power up.
“The infrastructure is still very immature; it needs to be developed,” Rome said. “There’s a lot of money out there from the federal government to support this, but it’s not happening at a rate we would like.”
The issue, for most electric-vehicle (EV) owners, isn’t charging at home; even level-1 chargers running overnight in the garage, at about four miles of range per hour, will give most drivers what they need to get around the next day, and Rome said local utilities are offering financial incentives to install level-2 chargers, which offer more than 30 miles of range per charge hour.
No, the big question, for many, is where to charge when away
from home. And that landscape is improving, if not quite at the pace Rome and others would like.
On the federal level, the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year invests $7.5 billion in electric-vehicle charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and more than $7 billion in EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has committed to building out a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. In support of this goal, the Department of Transportation announced the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, a $5 billion initiative to create a coast-to-coast network of EV chargers focused on major highways that support the majority of long-distance trips.
The idea behind this national network is to give drivers confidence they can always find a place to charge, as well as jump- starting private investment in charging infrastructure and electric vehicles and supporting the administration’s goal of having at least 50% of vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
Confidence Game
The confidence factor is important; a AAA survey last year revealed that 25% of Americans say they are likely to buy an electric vehicle for their next auto purchase, with Millennials leading the way at 30%. Of those, 77% cite savings on fuel costs as the top reason.
However, consumer hesitation surrounding range and accessibility to charging points continues to hold many people back. The top objections to buying electric in the AAA survey
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