Ok I have THOUGHTS on this. Like most of the things the Biden administration did, NEVI is better than even most of its proponents realize. We will survive without it (though we shouldn't have to), but the program was well-targeted and lowered all the barriers to EV adoption except one. 🧵 - ThreadSky

orangustang.bsky.social • 7 days ago

Ok I have THOUGHTS on this. Like most of the things the Biden administration did, NEVI is better than even most of its proponents realize. We will survive without it (though we shouldn't have to), but the program was well-targeted and lowered all the barriers to EV adoption except one. 🧵

Reposted from Technology Connections

Okay, here's something that will surprise you probably.

There are way more DC fast chargers being built right now with private funds than the NEVI program managed to get moving.

This tells us two things:

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orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

The basic structure of NEVI provides funding to states to build out charging infrastructure on major state/interstate highway corridors. It sets minimum requirements for these locations of 4 DC ports with a minimum rating of 150kW, as well as 97% uptime.

orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

Locations are required along these corridors every 50 miles, within a mile of the exit. This essentially makes them as accessible as gas pumps, solving the range anxiety problem on road trips. A huge problem with EV charging currently is that a station "on" your route is often 5mi off the highway.

orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

NEVI also provides funding for "community" charging, which is a mix of DC and AC Level 2 charging provided at reasonable destinations and on-street. This would solve the lack of at-home charging for a lot of people who live in multi-family dwellings or otherwise don't own their home.

orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

The "community" portion of the program is targeted at areas with lower average incomes and higher home rental rates (these often go hand in hand). While EVs are still largely new and expensive, a program like this makes a $5k used LEAF a better option for a lot of lower income folks.

orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

Back to the highway portion, something I'm seeing a lot is that private business is building out a lot of DC fast charging now, which is true. But they're mostly building in locations they expect to get traffic. NEVI sites 𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 traffic in rural areas. "If you build it, they will come" applies.

orangustang.bsky.social•7 days ago

If you're running a business and looking for sites to build charging stations, do you build where there's already traffic or do you build in the middle of nowhere and wait for traffic to appear? It could be years or never really materialize. NEVI absorbs that risk.

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