EV charging stations

One of the US’s largest energy companies, Con Edison, has announced a contract with Centrica Business Solutions to transform a lot in Brooklyn, New York, into an energy hub complete with 18 350kW EV chargers and a battery energy storage system (ESS). Con Edison claims this will be the first hub in New York City that combines both energy storage and EV charging.

A recent SEC filing has revealed that electric vehicle charging network EVgo is still 82 charger installations short of meeting its June 30 milestone deadline for the quarter, part of an agreement with General Motors (GM). According to the filing, missing this milestone would give GM the power to terminate the agreement and seek pre-agreed liquidated damages of up to $15 million, although GM currently remains confident in EVgo.

Public fast-charging network EVgo has announced a new program called EVgo Reservations that gives drivers the freedom to claim their spot at a charger ahead of time. The initial rollout consists of 17 locations across California and the Seattle area in a pilot program that has already expanded.

German electric utility company EnBW has announced it is implementing a flagship charging station at the Kamener Kreuz autobahn interchange. When complete, the 52 charging points will make it the largest public fast charging station in Europe, according to EnBW.

EV charging solutions company XL Fleet announced a partnership with UBS Arena and the New York Islanders that could create one of the largest EV charging sites in the US. The partnership will allow XL Fleet to install up to 1,000 charging stations at UBS Arena’s 43-acre site, which is the future home of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Solar and wind led the record growth of renewables globally in 2020, according to IRENA.
• South Dakota wants to subsidize more EV charging stations.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Electric vehicle DC fast charging network Electrify America has opened 30 solar EV charging stations in rural California – and they’re free for customers.

The UK’s first electric vehicle service station, known as the Electric Forecourt®, has been opened by GRIDSERVE today near Braintree, Essex, in southeast England.

Skeptics like to point out that most EV drivers live in single-family homes that make charging easy. And they point to the current lack of charging stations at condos as an impenetrable obstacle to EV adoption. But this viewpoint reflects a lack of understanding of how daily EV charging works.

I recently chatted with Jason Appelbaum, chief executive of EverCharge — the biggest EV charging network you never heard of. He explained several hundred electric cars, all parked in the same condo garage, can easily get their daily dose of electricity.

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The long-term plan for the EV community is ubiquitous, go-anywhere charging from coast to coast. Cross-country routes have been available for Tesla drives via the Supercharger network since about 2014. It’s now possible for other EV drivers – as Electrify America today announced that its open charging network features the first of two planned fast-charge, cross-country paths.

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As part of Germany’s new increased electric-vehicle incentive package, the country will require gas stations to offer EV charging. Details about the plan are not yet known, such as the timeline and type of required chargers. But EV advocates quickly praised the move as a boost to electric-car adoption. 

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Israel’s Electreon Wireless Ltd. plans to install electric charging coils under a 1.2-mile stretch of road in Tel Aviv in mid-August. It’s the latest attempt to enable electric vehicles to charge while driving. But is the approach feasible and necessary?

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Mercedes-Benz announced on Friday that its comprehensive insurance will include coverage of home-charging equipment, cables, and batteries. The policy includes risk coverage up to € 10,000 ($10,900) related to theft, vandalism, “overvoltage damage,” short circuits, and even bites from animals and rodents.

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Many new EV owners (and solar customers) need to upgrade their electrical panel. That panel, which is so critical to your home’s energy, uses antiquated technology. It’s mostly a big dumb circuit breaker. Well, that was until Arch Rao came along to turn that panel into an intelligent, app-controlled energy gateway.

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The Shanghai Municipal Government yesterday announced its smart-city action plan. Activities include adding 100,000 charging ports, so-called Internet-of-Vehicle roadways, and 34,500 5G base stations. Those charging ports double as interactive devices that collect a lot of data, including “user portraits.”

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The world’s electric-car infrastructure is growing by leaps and bounds. But there are still gaps – places without chargers that could be served if EV charging was portable, flexible, and put on wheels. Colorado-based Lightning Systems today became the latest to introduce a mobile DC fast charger for electric vehicles. But are these solutions more than a gimmick?

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Electrify America and Hyundai-Kia have a two-fold problem with their fees for fast-charging. First, where it is allowable, the fees are based on time and charged  by the minute. The second part of the problem is that those fees are tiered, based on the maximum possible kW charging rate ­– not the rate that your car actually charges. Today, Electrify America announced a temporary fix for the Kia Niro EV by ditching the tiers and charging a flat rate of $0.35 per minute.

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Canada’s Ontario province makes for a fascinating case study of EV adoption. On one hand, Ontario’s center-right government in July 2018 killed an EV rebate of up to $14,000 — and electric-car sales plummeted by 50%. The situation went postal in November 2018 when 12 EV charging stations were ripped out from a Toronto train station. Critics said the chargers were expensive and had low utilization. And then, last Thursday, EV-driving parliament members spoke up loud and clear in a debate over ICE-ing.

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Curse Electrify America (EA) if you want. Giovanni Palazzo, the CEO of the nationwide charging network, invites criticism if you have a terrible experience at an EA location. We spent a full hour last week with Palazzo, and COO Brendan Jones, discussing the challenges of creating an open nationwide network of ultra-fast EV chargers. Electrify America has made a lot of progress, but its leaders admit it has a long way to go to serve the next generation of EV drivers.

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Total, the major French multinational oil and gas company, announced today a $300 million investment to install about 200 MW of solar capacity at 5,000 gas stations around the world. The investment is being presented as a way for Total’s operations to reduce its carbon footprint, but what if its the first step to convert the gas stations into electric vehicle charging stations?
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