Photo of Baldwin Parking Lot in downtown Westport

No More Free Juice

It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It was not expected that taxpayers would fund free charging forever.

Baldwin was the catalyst, but the policies described below are intended to apply to all town-owned parking areas, and going forward planning for parking includes consideration for EV charging.

The Board of Selectwomen today approved a charge of $.35 per kWh.

Baldwin is a timed lot, and the 3-hour limit applies to the EV spaces as well. There will be a 15 minute grace period before the vehicle is assessed an idling charge of $10/hour, billed in 15 minute increments.

If a vehicle pulls into one of these spaces with a near-depleted battery, 3 hours will not be enough to fully charge it. If the vehicle has an onboard charger of around 11 kW, some back of the envelope calculations indicate that it will be able to get about 30 kWh of charge, equating to roughly 130 miles of range, for a cost of $10.50.

Chargers at the town’s two train stations are exempted from any idling charges.

The charging spaces are for EVs that are charging only. Aside from combustion (ICE) vehicles, it is not permitted for an EV that isn’t charging to use one of these spaces. Citations will be given. We don’t know what the penalty will be, but currently if an ICE vehicle parks in an EV space at the train depot, a $25 fine is assessed.

The new policies will go into effect in January. Free juice reigns for the holiday.

12 chargers, 80-amp units (powerful for AC), have been installed at Baldwin with infrastructure for 12 more for when the time comes. The incentives available through Eversource provide for this kind of future-proofing. The chargers have J-1772 connectors.

Contretemps

Whenever public chargers are installed, it seems to generate some level of controversy.

We hope that nobody thinks installing public chargers is a bad thing. Given the importance of EV adoption in reducing greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and ongoing consumer concerns about range anxiety, public chargers are needed. These can be the powerful DC fast chargers, usually located along highway corridors, but also the less expensive level 2 AC chargers, such as those in Baldwin, in locations where there is more dwell time.

EVs currently account for about 7% of all vehicles registered in Westport. While Westport residents will no doubt use the chargers, it would be a mistake to think that all shoppers/diners are from Westport and that everyone in Westport has access to home charging.

Prime Access

These chargers are located near the front of the lot. It is common to see EV chargers located in what might be considered the prime spots for a parking lot or a building. We have heard the term “elitist” used to characterize this practice. The much more pedestrian explanation is proximity to the power source. Installing the chargers at the back of the lot would require more trenching and would be more expensive. (In a new-build situation, it is much easier to do this.)

In the EV community, most would prefer if the chargers could be located toward the “back of the lot.” Less tsuris.

Ongoing Evaluation

Since being energized, the chargers have been busy. Who doesn’t like free? Topping off may become a less frequent behavior when there is a fee that is higher than charging at home, plus an idling fee. These chargers are connected via the EVConnect service, as all town chargers either are or will be, and charging data, along with consumer feedback, will be used to inform future charger-related decisions.

Charging per kWh

As noted above, the fee is based on the kWh consumed in a given charge. Public EV chargers typically charge either using this method or by the minute. We think a per kWh fee is inherently fairer. You pay for what you use and slower charging vehicles are not penalized.

24 Chargers at Hotel Marcel in New Haven

Photos: Hotel Marcel, Maxwell Electric Shuttle Minibus parked at an EVConnect charger, Solar Canopy and Tesla chargers, charging under the canopy

At long last, the chargers at the Hotel Marcel in New Haven are live. The hotel is located in the Long Wharf area, next door to IKEA. There are 12 Tesla 250 kWh Supercharger stalls  and 12 level 2 chargers from EVConnect with J-1772 connectors. The infrastructure is present to triple the number of L2 chargers to 36. You can use the EVConnect app to use them. Just download it from Apple App Store or Google Play, then scan the QR code, use the Guest Checkout option, then charging starts right away. Alternatively, if you already have a ChargePoint account, you should be able to start charging by just tapping your phone on the charger, or using the ChargePoint app. The rate for the level 2 charging is set by the hotel and it is being made available gratis. Tesla is responsible for setting the supercharger rate.

The IKEA next door has another 2 level 2 chargers (free) and there is a planned Electrify America level 3 installation coming.

The lobby area of the hotel is open 24/7 with rest rooms and food available. While you are there, check out this very cool facility, housed in a 1960’s landmark Brutalist building retrofitted as the nation’s first net-zero hotel. Power comes from solar panels on the roof and solar canopies, complemented with batteries, energy efficient electric appliances and fixtures. Even the elevators have “regenerative braking” when they are descending. The 11th Commandment: No electron shall go to waste. The insulation is very tight, including the German-made windows, which allow for passive heating in the winter. All of this makes for effective sound insulation, as well. Even though it is near a busy highway, the rooms are totally quiet.

20 Chargers Coming to Fairfield

The Town of Fairfield will be installing 20 level 2 charging ports (10 dual port units) at Sullivan Independence Hall sometime in first quarter 2023. These are intended for use by the town fleet. The town doesn’t have the vehicles yet – like with everyone else, deliveries are slow. But it’s great they’re thinking ahead. These are networked and could be repurposed for consumer use, but it is not known if that will happen.

Both the Hotel Marcel and the Town of Fairfield made use of the utility incentives for these installations.

Forth EV Offsets Flyer (1)

This link to the CT Green Bank has more information

Upcoming Meeting to Feature a Speaker From FreeWire

There is a virtual club meeting via Zoom scheduled for October 27th. John Erdman, Head of Strategic Accounts for FreeWire, will be speaking to us about their latest charging solutions. John joined FreeWire this past August after having spent 9 years with ChargePoint.

One of the new mousetraps developed by FreeWire is a level 3 charger with a self-contained 160 kW battery that continuously draws power at the rate of 20kW per hour. This avoids the power consumption spikes typical of level 3 chargers, which are what cause facility owners to be subject to utility demand charges. We have seen first-hand in CT how that has become a major obstacle to expanding EVSE infrastructure.

We will also be providing an update on the latest information regarding proposed changes to the CHEAPR EV purchase-incentive program. Some of the proposed changes, which we have blogged about numerous times, such as here and here, are controversial and, as of this writing, have still not been resolved. It is possible they will be by the 27th.

If you are interested in joining us and do not receive the club emails, please fill out the website contact form.

We look forward to virtually seeing many of you.

A ribbon-cutting for the largest cluster of charging stations in Connecticut will be hosted by the Electric Vehicle Club of Connecticut, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the Connecticut Electric Vehicle Coalition on June 13, 2018, at 5:00 PM in Hartford. This event is open to the general public.

777 Main Street in Hartford is a LEED Certified Platinum building with 285 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space. The development includes a total of 29 EV chargers: six Tesla superchargers, eight Tesla destination chargers, eight Clipper Creek level 2 chargers, and six level 2 and one level 3 DC SAE combo ChargePoint chargers.

A reception and panel discussion of EV policy in the Penthouse of 777 Main will follow, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Moderator and panelists:

• Claire Coleman – Energy and Environment Attorney at CT Fund for the Environment
• Matt Macunas – Legislative Liaison and EV Policy Specialist at CT Green Bank
• Kerri Enright Kato – Director of DEEP’s Office of Climate Change
• Emily Lewis – Policy Analyst at The Acadia Center

Subject to interest and time, an EV “ride and drive” will be available. An array of new electric vehicles are expected, including BMW, Nissan, Chevrolet, Tesla, and Honda.

About 777 Main

777 Main was designed and developed by Becker and Becker. Principal Bruce Becker, also the president of the Electric Vehicle Club of CT, stated, “80% of EV charging is done at home. Residents of apartments and condos typically have less access to charging, which is a significant barrier to ownership for a lot of people, especially in cities. The ambitious emission-reduction goals set by the state underscore the importance of increasing the number of EVs from the 6,264 registered as of March. This project in Hartford, CT serves as an example for adding charging features in housing developments as an impetus to accelerate EV adoption.”

2 new level 2 charging stations installed at NCC

The Westport Electric Car Club joined officials from Norwalk Community College, the State of CT and Town of Norwalk for the ribbon cutting marking the official unveiling of 2 new level 2 electric vehicle charging stations. In the photo, NCC President David Levinson is flanked by State Senator Bob Duff and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling.

NCC President David Levinson announced plans by NCC for its campus to be carbon neutral by 2025. With that as background, two electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at the NCC West Campus. These stations were funded by a CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) grant that was obtained for the college by Eric Gribin, the Director of its Building Efficiency and Sustainable Technology (BEST) program.  The grant was supplemented by a donation from Karl Chevrolet of New Canaan.

These charging stations, as described by Tracy Babbidge, the Bureau Chief for Energy at DEEP, are 2 of 265 such installations across 55 towns throughout the state that have been funded by DEEP grants. Ms. Babbidge noted that transportation emissions account for 40% of emissions statewide. The efforts made by the state have earned it a 5th best ranking among all states for energy efficiency, improved from 9th three years ago.

These charging stations are open to the public, and per the terms of the DEEP grant, charging is offered free for 3 years. According to State Senator Bob Duff, 90% of CT residents should now be “range confident,” as opposed to being concerned about range anxiety.

Norwalk’s Mayor Rilling noted that this brings the number of public charging stations in the city to 7, and that Norwalk has accumulated credits to get another 3.