What (to you) is an EV-Ready Corridor?

[TheWoo]

Surely they have calculated what is needed to replace all the gas pumps on interstates (after adjusting for a local use factor). Is their conclusion really that we need four 150kW chargers every 50 miles?

EV Ready today is not ready for mass adoption of EVs. That's not how they defined it at all. In theory it's about how to have a minimum level of infrastructure to start the next wave of adoption with the expectation that private industry will then step in.

I'm reality, it's also likely between a somewhat scientific and somewhat arbitrary number of "feels right" that provides a framework for infrastructure plan implementation.

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[MM in SouthTX]

You put too much faith in our government.

Again, trying to be nice!

 

[mb0220]

4 working chargers every 50 miles that add 150ish miles to a car in 30 minutes. So the infrastructure would accommodate 24 cars per hour and the drivers would need to charge for 30 minutes out of each 2.5ish your block of time. This would mean that no more than 60 ideally spaced EVs could travel that corridor in parallel. This does not sound like enough based on future EV adoption goals.

I read it as 4 stations per 50 miles and 4 chargers per station, for a total of 16 "plugs" per 50 miles - which feels much more reasonable.

 

[TheWoo]

I looked up some rural I-40 traffic counts as a starting point. Let’s use 40,000 vehicles a day and say 80% of those don’t need to charge while on the road. (Probably high, but I need a starting point.) Then spread out the 8,000/day that do need to charge over a 300 mile stretch of road. (The 300 comes from a generous estimate of highway range.) Then assume 7,500 of the 8,000 travel during the hours of 7am to 10 pm.

So, 7,500 vehicles spread evenly over 15 hours is 500 vehicles per hour that need to charge on the 300 mile stretch.

Next assumption: Each connection can handle the needs of 3 vehicles per hour. (Again, generous, but accounting for improvements in charging efficiency.) So, excluding gaps, we need a minimum of 167 individual charging connections in that 300 mile stretch. If we space them 50 miles apart (6 stations), that’s about 26 connections per station. I would add at least a 50% increase to account for the fact that the number of people trying to charge over that time period is not evenly spaced. Probably a 100% increase would be appropriate given how traffic rises and falls during the day. So somewhere between 40 and 50 connections every 50 miles. Roughly 10x what the DOE is saying.

I’m trying to develop an understanding of the logistics of going all electric. I welcome other viewpoints and data crunching.

By the time we get to that many EVs, a very high percentage of them will be charging at much faster rates. Also, I think your 20% needing to charge number is actually high. But that's just a guess on my part. Even in rural areas a very low percentage of people are traveling over 150 miles.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

I read it as 4 stations per 50 miles and 4 chargers per station, for a total of 16 "plugs" per 50 miles - which feels much more reasonable.

You may be right. The terminology is important. Their wording is not clear. Is a “station” a cabinet or like a gas station? Is a “charger” a cabinet?

 

[mb0220]

You may be right. The terminology is important. Their wording is not clear. Is a “station” a cabinet or like a gas station? Is a “charger” a cabinet?

Agreed. If I'm reading it correctly then they are using the word "charger" in both senses of the word within the same paragraph. But I think my interpretation is correct because it wouldn't make sense to have one location per 50 miles nor would it make sense to have only one plug per location.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

By the time we get to that many EVs, a very high percentage of them will be charging at much faster rates. Also, I think your 20% needing to charge number is actually high. But that's just a guess on my part. Even in rural areas a very low percentage of people are traveling over 150 miles.

20% is a wild guess. It would certainly be high near metropolitan centers, but in a rural area like I-10 between Kerrville and El Paso it’s probably low. Edited to say that near metro centers, the greater volume of cars still probably keeps the 500 per hour number in the ballpark.

Thanks for the input.

 

[invertedspear]

I looked up some rural I-40 traffic counts as a starting point. Let’s use 40,000 vehicles a day and say 80% of those don’t need to charge while on the road. (Probably high, but I need a starting point.) Then spread out the 8,000/day that do need to charge over a 300 mile stretch of road. (The 300 comes from a generous estimate of highway range.) Then assume 7,500 of the 8,000 travel during the hours of 7am to 10 pm.

I think you're missing a bigger cut in those numbers before you even say 20% of them are EVs. While it's still a wild-ass guess, you need to cut out the percentage that are just going one or two towns over and not going on a long trip that will require fast charging.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

I think you're missing a bigger cut in those numbers before you even say 20% of them are EVs. While it's still a wild-ass guess, you need to cut out the percentage that are just going one or two towns over and not going on a long trip that will require fast charging.

You must have missed the part where I originally posed the question as "shifting to all EV's." Perhaps I should have re-stated it in the later post. I will revise. Also, I'm actually saying that 80% of them are going one or two towns over and not on long trips.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I read it as 4 stations per 50 miles and 4 chargers per station, for a total of 16 "plugs" per 50 miles - which feels much more reasonable.

If that is the case, then that will definitely be better.

 

[Pioneer74]

Number of Charging Ports

This final rule establishes a requirement for the number of ports at a charging station. Any time charging stations are installed there is a required minimum of 4 ports, notwithstanding the type of port (Direct Current Fast Charger (DCFC) or alternating current (AC) Level 2 or a combination of DCFC and AC Level 2). Additionally, in all instances when a DCFC charging station is installed along and designed to serve users of designated AFCs, there must be at least four network-connected DCFC charging ports.

Number of Charging Ports

The FHWA received a significant amount of comments on the number of chargers proposed in § 680.106(b). Many commenters supported the proposed minimum requirement as written for a minimum of four charging network-connected DCFC ports capable of simultaneously charging at least four EVs.

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...cle-infrastructure-standards-and-requirements

 

[MM in SouthTX]

Pioneer beat me by a moment. It is four total connections, not four times four.

Each NEVI-funded DC fast charge station will have a minimum of four 150 kW Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors and a minimum total station power of 600 kW. Stations will be located no more than 50 miles apart along freeways and highways and no more than 1 mile from a freeway exit or highway roadway. States are required to emphasize equity, with at least 40 percent of NEVI benefits going to disadvantaged, low income, rural and tribal communities.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-...c-vehicle-infrastructure-nevi-formula-program

 

[VTbuckeye]

Pioneer beat me by a moment. It is four total connections, not four times four.

Each NEVI-funded DC fast charge station will have a minimum of four 150 kW Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors and a minimum total station power of 600 kW. Stations will be located no more than 50 miles apart along freeways and highways and no more than 1 mile from a freeway exit or highway roadway. States are required to emphasize equity, with at least 40 percent of NEVI benefits going to disadvantaged, low income, rural and tribal communities.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-...c-vehicle-infrastructure-nevi-formula-program

So 4 plugs at 150kW per 50 miles.... Definitely a start, but also not enough. 8 cars per hour per station if charging for 30 minutes. Yikes. Maybe they are counting on market forces driving the building of more charge stations as EV usage increases.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

So 4 plugs at 150kW per 50 miles.... Definitely a start, but also not enough. 8 cars per hour per station if charging for 30 minutes. Yikes. Maybe they are counting on market forces driving the building of more charge stations as EV usage increases.

Maybe they should name it an "EV-Ready for 2022 Corridor!"

 

[Yellow Buddy]

4 chargers aren't going to cut it anymore. They need 8 or 12.

8 is the bare minimum. I would’ve said 8 per 30 miles. If you go 50 miles I definitely think 12 is the minimum.

Thermal limitations are the biggest factor. In the south, I would probably go even more aggressive or require a minimum average actual charging speed vs a rated speed.

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