I usually lose it about four sentences into writing about EV. Christopher DeMorro over at Gas 2.0 takes a calm look at unused charging station being installed at government expense in garages in New Haven. Read it here. This great post was brought to my attention by one of our fans on PT Facebook Page.
His last graph summarizes his text:
So I ask my fellow alt-fuel advocates; is it really wise to invest in an infrastructure that nobody demanded? Will those empty EV spots fill sooner, rather than later? Is the government stepping in where private enterprise should be taking over? Will these charging stations become just another testament of government folly, or are they bribing would-be EV buyers with free energy?
DeMorro notes that when automobiles first came out, there was no need for the government to come up with gasoline stations on each corner. Once the free market saw that “horseless carriages” were going to take off, blacksmiths put in gas pumps and the infrastructure happened over night. No government funding needed.
He is concerned that the beautiful charging stations like the one above, sitting unused, actually tell a different story than the one hoped by the government. It says that people aren’t buying EVs, and maybe they won’t.
I think the position is well taken. In this month’s PT, we have an article about the IPI and NPA signing on with the Green Parking Council. I laud their desire to bring sustainability to the industry. They join one other partner in the Green Parking Council, the Electrification Coalition. Its mission is as follows:
The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale in order to combat the economic, environmental, and national security dangers caused by our nation’s dependence on petroleum.
Laudable, once again. A major funding member of the Green Parking Council is Green Garage Associates. This group’s mission, according to its web site:
Environmental consciousness is a monumental development in the human history of our planet. Epochally so. Sustainability is the result of a very simple action; reduce consumption. Beyond the profound societal and cultural implications of environmental consciousness – where everyone is a stakeholder – environmental sustainability is simply the more profitable course for a business to chart. The efficiency of efficiency. Green Garage Associates is leading the parking industry with insight and a systematized approach to the reduction of consumption; a reduced energy envelope. We’ve developed processes that identify and attack inefficiency and result in actionable strategies with clearly measurable results. Society benefits along with the bottom-line.
Now I’m all for making our garages better lit, have lower water usage, have equipment that speeds up parking and reduces emissions and save money. Makes wonderful sense. Many major operators have signed on to the Green Parking Council, as have major parking equipment suppliers. All to the good. If these private companies can promote what they call “eco-capitalism” and bring sustainability to parking and related fields I’m all for it. This is what has been needed. Get the government out of the way and let the marketplace do its thing. If LED lighting saves money then go for it. If you can reduce water usage with a special valve, do it. If locating charging stations in parking garages is a cost effective way to supply electricity to EV, and the demand is there, go for it.
Just as DeMorro is skeptical of having empty spaces in garages taken by charging stations, I am wondering if we don’t have a cart before the horse. Revenue control manufacturers are designing systems to allow the same equipment that is used to collect fees for parking also be used to collect fees for electricity. My guess is that if the true cost of supplying that electricity is figured, the KWH cost in a parking garage will be far higher than the one in your home garage.
An airport friend of mine told me that they were installing stations only in their valet operations. That means if you want to be ‘topped up’ you have to pay the valet premium. That makes all kinds of sense to me. Will it make sense to the EV driver?
At some point the government will have to stop subsidizing the infrastructure for EVs. We must hope that when that day comes, the drivers will be willing to pick up the tab. The key word in ‘eco-capitalism” is capitalism. Consider what could happen when someone who paid a premium for an electric vehicle thinking they were getting free or subsidized electricity at the end of their trip finds that it now costs 5 or 10 times what it costs in their home garage. There are many variables. The marketplace will work them out.
JVH
