Public Information and Awareness (4)
Editor’s Note: These series are selected from manual Electric Vehicle Community Market Launch Manual: A Guide to Prepare Your Community for Electric Vehicles which was prepared by the Electric Transportation Coalition (ETC) and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas (EVAA) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Batteries
Communicators must have a clear understanding of battery development and battery recycling, including:
- State-of-the-art and emerging battery technologies
- The local community’s air quality concerns
- External sources of emissions in the community
- Government/industry goal to assure that all batteries developed are recyclable and nontoxic
- Current lead-acid battery recycling and rates of recycling
From a public communications standpoint, battery recycling is one of the more complex issues that must be discussed with the general public and key policymakers. This complexity can be misunderstood and create opposition for EVs. For example, in mid-1995, an article in Science cited a study that raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of the production and reprocessing of large amounts of lead-acid batteries. Because most EVs today carry lead-acid battery packs, the article implied that when such batteries are produced, used, and then recycled, air emissions of lead would be greater than for an internal combustion-engine vehicle operating on leaded gasoline.
The article and study were found by experts in the field to be misleading and not factual. Letters to the editor of Science cited numerous flaws. For example, researchers from Argonne National Laboratory found that the study overestimated potential air emissions of lead by a factor of 5-50. The Union of Concerned Scientists faulted the study for using outdated data on batteries and electric vehicles and for overestimating the potential increase in lead demand resulting from use of EVs. A researcher from Princeton University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies noted that the study failed to discuss the small market for EV batteries within the context of the immense market for automotive starter batteries, by far the primary consumer of lead. Many specialists pointed out the difficulty of performing such a complex environmental study, and requested a more detailed and careful review of all the issues involved. The Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas has summarized the problems with this study in a technical brief, drawing on information from utility, component, and automotive industry sources.
Communicators need to be aware of the latest technical information to offset such problems. For example, the lead issue raised by the article could be addressed up front and include information on the advanced batteries now being developed for the next generation of EVs.
Community Integration
Local governments must provide a number of EV infrastructure systems to ensure successful EV introduction. Local policymakers must be educated on the need for adopting building, electrical, and health and safety codes; incentives to support EV usage; and training of local emergency response personnel. Some sample communications messages and strategies follow:
- Communicate the importance of EV charging requirements and disseminate available information to ensure deployment of the necessary infrastructure in residential and commercial buildings
- Provide information on the mechanics of EV charging, the surrounding safety issues, and upgrades to existing wiring configurations that may be required
- Provide promotional literature on the advantages of EVs
- Provide vehicle demonstrations and technical overviews to police and fire personnel
- Perform rescue drills using actual EVs
Where appropriate, use the information contained in the American Coalition for Traffic Safety document entitled Traffic Safety Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Emergency Rescue Training Program (see EV Emergency Response information provided in the EV Charging Facilities/Vehicle System Support section of this Volume).
The case study below highlights one way to reach rescue personnel:
GM PrEView Drive Program
General Motors field service engineers met with Ft. Lauderdale community fire and rescue leaders in October 1995. The GM engineers gave a thorough overview of the GM Impact, highlighting its various technical and safety features. A fire and rescue instructional video was shown, and a manual put together by Florida Power & Light Company, ‘‘Impact Emergency Responder information Booklet,’’ was provided for distribution to each department’s personnel (a copy of thisdocumentcanbefoundinVol.III).
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Public Information and Awareness (3)
Editor’s Note: These series are selected from manual Electric Vehicle Community Market Launch Manual: A Guide to Prepare Your Community for Electric Vehicles which was prepared by the Electric Transportation Coalition (ETC) and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas (EVAA) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATING STAKEHOLDERS ON SPECIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS
Charging Facilities
Most outreach programs to educate stakeholders on EV charging issues will be initiated by the local electric utility, Clean Cities Coalition, or EV retailer. This program should contain a component geared toward educating local code officials on charging technologies and installation practices. An education strategy for charging facility issues could include the following activities:
- Use existing research to understand and communicate charging preferences
- Develop mechanisms to convey the importance of off-peak (nighttime and weekend) charging
- Communicate the process for installing a home charging unit
- List existing charging locations
- Determine the most suitable locations for new facilities
- Provide information on costs of charging
This case study illustrates a strategy used in Los Angeles:
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Charging Station Publicity
LADWP unveiled the city’s first public charging stations, located at its downtown headquarters building, via a well attended media event in late 1992. Several months later, LADWP reached an agreement with the Music Center of Los Angeles County, located directly across the street, to allow Music Center patrons who own EVs to ‘‘park and charge’’ free at LADWP during performances. This offer garnered media coverage, and received free placement in a Music Center program distributed to all patrons during one month. The Music Center program provided people who meet the demographic profile of ‘‘early EV adopters’’ with information about the benefits of EVs and the progress underway to make Los Angeles EV-Ready.
Service and Maintenance
Potential EV purchasers—the general public and fleet users—must be assured that EV service and maintenance will be readily available. Likewise, local policymakers should understand the employment-related opportunities that come with expanded service and maintenance programs specific to EVs. An education strategy for EV service and maintenance issues should:
- Recognize that service and maintenance will be provided by OEM and others, such as certified independent mechanics
- Provide information, where available, on the costs of EV service and maintenance
- Provide information on local EV education programs and on establishing an EV service training curriculum
- Provide information on local electric utility EVs and EV service and maintenance programs
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THE DESIRABLE LOCATION AND NUMBER OF EV CHARGING FACILITIES
Editor’s Note: These series are selected from manual Electric Vehicle Community Market Launch Manual: A Guide to Prepare Your Community for Electric Vehicles which was prepared by the Electric Transportation Coalition (ETC) and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas (EVAA) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Part of the EV planner’s job is to ascertain the number and location of existing fleet, residential, and public charging facilities, and project the number and location of future stations needed on the basis of expected EV sales.
Surveys and focus groups to determine EV demand can provide useful information on the number and geographic distribution of EV sales, and consequently the number and location of EV charging facilities that might be required for residences and fleets. General information from the surveys might also help plan for public charging facilities.
This section addresses how some communities have planned for or installed charging facilities and how much EV users will pay for electricity at remote charging facilities.
The electric utility and automotive industries agree that an EV charging station must be available at the EV’s primary garaging location. For an EV garaged at a single-family dwelling, one charging point would be required. The ideal location of this charging station would be in the garage or beside the driveway. In multifamily structures with reserved (single user) parking spaces, one charging station would be required adjacent to the parking space. In multi-family parking structures without reserved parking, a charging facility installed at one location could accommodate several users. For centrally fueled EVs in a fleet setting, one or more charging facilities could charge a number of vehicles at the same time.
The following case studies discuss results of charging studies performed by different groups:
Salt River Project (SRP) EV Market Assessment Survey
A1993ResidentialElectric Vehicle Market Assessment Study 1 completed by SRP found that Arizona-base potential purchasers of EVs must be able to charge at home. To ensure the broad appeal of EVs, charging facilities must also be available at work locations. In contrast, the ability to charge an EV at shopping malls, parking garages, and restaurants was a low priority. The study results were obtained using a survey that was direct mailed to over 47,000 residential customers with household incomes of at least $40,000.
Southern California Edison Company (SCE) EV Evaluation Program
In 1992, SCE developed a three-year Demand-Side Management Electric Vehicle Evaluation Program. This multifaceted and complex program analyzes and evaluates the electrical load that EVs will place on the utility system and develops strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of additional EV-related load. The geographical information system being incorporated into computer models can provide projections of the optimal siting of charging facilities for large fleets and the public based on high commuter concentrations along primary transportation corridors.
General Motors Corporation (GM) PrE-View Drive Program Results
Based on composite focus group information from the Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sacramento, Harrisburg, and New York area GM PrEView Drive locations (see Status of EV Development in this Volume for a description of the GM PrEView Drive Program),GM found the following:
- Test drivers stated that the availability of public charging at locations other than the primary fueling location is critical to their vehicle purchase decision.
- The wide spread availability of public charging mitigates the ‘‘rangeissue,’’ rendering the vehicle more useful.
- The widespread availability of 6.6 kW (level2) public charging is a critical factor in the vehicle purchase decision.
- The availability of 25 kW (level 3) public charging is an important factor in a respondent’s purchase consideration, especially among higher income respondents.
- The use of the 6.6 kW versus the 25 kW public charging option appears to be highly correlated to household economics. Wealthier respondents indicated that they expected to use the 25 kW public charging option more than the 6.6 kW option, as they found saving time more important than the additional cost of level 3 charging.
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The following table summarizes the expected uses of home versus public charging facilities, and the price premium
that focus group participants would be willing to spend to charge their EVs at a public charging facility:
|
|
Home Charging Off-Peak (6.6 kW)
|
Home Charging On-Peak (6.6 kW) |
Remote Charging (6.6 kW)
|
Remote Charging
(25 kW)
|
|
Composite Average
|
85%
|
3%
|
6%
|
6%
|
|
Date Spread
|
65%–100%
|
0%–15%
|
0%–15%
|
0%–12%
|
|
Average Premium
|
Base
|
Not applicable
|
+100%
|
+250%
|
|
Data Spread
|
Base
|
Not applicable
|
0%–500%
|
0%–1,400%
|
To date, several communities working to be EV-Ready have taken different paths in planning for and deploying public EV charging facilities. The electric utility industry is employing a host of strategies, from conducting in depth charging system analyses (see the above description of SCE’s study) to installing public charging facilities in selected high-traffic locations.
The following case studies describe experiences with installing public charging:
SMUD has installed more than 137 EV charging stations at 29 public locations in Sacramento since August 1992. These charging stations are located at publicly owned and private parking structures primarily in major employment centers and light-rail parking lots. SMUD has installed the charging stations free of charge, and in return, the parking structure operator has agreed not to charge the EV user for electricity for a period of three years.
LADWP has installed more than 120 public/ semi-public charging stations at various LADWP-owned locations since late 1993. Currently, LADWP provides electricity free of charge to users of the charging equipment, but expects to charge for such electricity in the future.
Initially, BECO believed that public charging facilities should be installed at workplaces, shopping malls, and other locations. However, after analyzing results of the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, BECO has taken a different approach. The Program found that EV commuters generally charge their vehicles in locations with the most economical electricity and/or parking fees. Since home charging is anticipated to be less costly than public charging, BECO believes public charging should be made available only on interstate highways, parkways, and other corridors of travel between major population centers. BECO’s current plans call for deploying quick charge (level 3) locations at 35-mile increments along major routes circling Metropolitan Boston. Later, the Program would add such charging facilities along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The map above shows the distribution of level 3 chargers planned for Massachusetts.
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