Plug-In Sites - EV charging from a driver's perspective.

Howard County Government Getting 16 Charging Plugs

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 Lanny

The parking lot behind the Howard County Government Office buildings in Ellicott City, Maryland is getting electric vehicle charging stations. There will be enough charging ports to recharge 16 cars at the same time. Visitors and staff of the George Howard Building will have access to these charging stations.

These will supplement or replace the dual-port ChargePoint that has been located in the upper parking lot near the Howard Building for more than seven years.

This EV charging site may be the largest installation of Level 2 charging stations in Howard County since the 40 Charging Ports at Merriweather District in Columbia, MD were commissioned in February 2020.

The address is 3450 Court House Dr, Ellicott City, MD 21043.

Beltsville, MD Tesla Supercharger and EVgo Fast Chargers

February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 Lanny

Beltsville Charging Stations Coming to Wawa on Rt. 1

An apparent joint project between Tesla and EVgo is under construction next to a Wawa store in Beltsville, Maryland. The Beltsville charging station includes 12 Tesla Supercharger stalls and four DC fast chargers.

Two of the fast chargers are rated at 100 kW and are from a manufacturer called Delta. The other two fast chargers are 175 kW and are made by Signet. The charging station is in a parking lot on the south side of the Wawa store on Route 1 in Beltsville, near the IKEA store.

Tesla Superchargers in the Washington DC Area

This is part of Tesla’s ambitious expansion of their Supercharging network in the greater Washington, DC area. The Beltsville Supercharger location is on the Tesla “Find Us” map with a target opening of Q4, 2022. It will likely open much sooner than that.

This will be a convenient stop for Tesla drivers and drivers of other electric vehicles who travel on I-495, the Washington Beltway. The DC fast chargers each have a CCS connector and a CHAdeMO connector. The Delta brand chargers are relatively new to the EVgo network. Stay tuned for an opening date for this location.

Maryland Proposes That New Buildings be EV-Ready

February 5, 2022September 28, 2022 Lanny

Pre-Wiring for Electric Vehicle Charging

Maryland Senate Bill 627 proposes to amend the state building code to require the installation of EV-Capable, EV-Ready, and EVCS-Installed parking spaces. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Jeff Waldstreicher of Montgomery County, would apply to new construction as well as existing buildings that undergo significant renovations.

The terms EV-Capable, EV-Ready and EVCS-Installed are defined in the bill as:

“EV–CAPABLE PARKING SPACE” MEANS A DEDICATED PARKING SPACE PROVIDED WITH ELECTRICAL PANEL CAPACITY AND INSTALLED CONDUIT THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO SUPPORT FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION OF EV CHARGING WITH A MINIMUM 40 AMPERE, 208/240 VOLT CIRCUIT.

“EV–READY PARKING SPACE” MEANS A DEDICATED PARKING SPACE THAT HAS A FULL CIRCUIT INSTALLATION OF A MINIMUM 40 AMPERE, 208/240 VOLT CIRCUIT PANEL CAPACITY, RACEWAY WIRING, RECEPTACLE AND CIRCUIT OVERPROTECTION DEVICES.

“EVCS–INSTALLED PARKING SPACE” MEANS A DEDICATED PARKING SPACE WITH AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION WITH AT LEAST LEVEL 2 CHARGING CAPABILITY THAT IS FULLY INSTALLED FROM THE ELECTRICAL PANEL TO THE PARKING SPACE.

Maryland EV-Ready Building Code

The code will apply to privately owned commercial buildings, multifamily residential buildings, mixed–use buildings consisting of five or more residential dwelling units, single–family homes, and townhouses. Each building will be required to include a minimum percentage of EV–Capable, EV–Ready, and EVCS–Installed parking spaces in the garage or parking area.

Maryland Bill Would Require EV Charging at New Gas Stations

February 4, 2022February 4, 2022 Lanny

One EV Charging Station for Each Gas Pump

Maryland House Bill 835 proposes to establish requirements for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations as a condition of approval for the construction of new retail gas stations in Maryland.

The bill, as introduced by lead sponsor Delegate Sheila Ruth of Baltimore County, would require at least one Level 2 charging station for each gasoline pump.

On or after October 1, 2022, a person constructing a retail service station that is projected to sell more than 1,000,000 gallons of gasoline per year shall install one electric vehicle charging station capable of providing at least Level 2 charging for each gasoline dispensing pump operated by the retail service station.
Maryland HB835 as introduced

Gas Stations Must be 1,000 Feet From Schools, Day Cares, Hospitals, etc.

A unit of government that exercises final construction approval authority for retail gas stations would also require a setback of at least 1,000 feet from a school, hospital, day care center, park, playground or certain other listed places.

(C) On or after October 1, 2022, a person constructing a retail service station shall apply to the approving body for a setback certification.
(D) An approving body shall issue a setback certification if the retail service station will be set back at least 1,000 feet, boundary line to boundary line, from:
(1) another retail service station;
(2) a church, as defined in § 5–301(b) of the Corporations and Associations Article;
(3) a day care center;
(4) a hospital;
(5) an outdoor area that is categorized as a cultural, entertainment, or recreational use area;
(6) a park;
(7) a playground;
(8) a public or private school; or
(9) a residential property.
(E) After October 1, 2022, without a setback certification issued by an approving body.
Maryland HB835 as introduced

A Public Hearing is scheduled for February 24 at 1:00 p.m. in the House Economic Matters Committee.

HB 835 is cosponsored by Delegates Belcastro, Foley, Lehman, and Terrasa.

PlugInSites is tracking electric vehicle legislation in Maryland, Virginia and certain EV related bills in other states. Follow the progress of those bills at the 2022 PlugInSites EV Legislation Tracker.

Please Fix Maryland Anti-ICEing Legislation HB 157

January 29, 2022September 28, 2022 Lanny

EV Charging Connector Lock — Laws that penalize EV drivers who get unplugged will lead to more people locking the connector to their car.

UPDATE: Feb. 4, 2022

SB 146 was amended to add the problematic language that will penalize an electric vehicle driver if their car becomes unplugged. The amended bill was approved on 2nd reading on Thursday and will likely pass in the Senate. The House bill HB 157 passed out of the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Subcommittee on Thursday. That bill was amended to remove the requirement to post official signs at all charging stations funded with public money. Tesla objected to the mandatory enforcable signs:

“There are commercial properties who would like to install charging infrastructure but would not want to install a sign as required under HB157. For example, an establishment with limited spaces for customer parking may not be willing to limit its parking to EV customers only. The approach in the crossfiled bill, SB146, to outline what should be on a sign if a property owner chooses to install one, without requiring their installation, is a better approach to ensuring that potential site hosts are not dissuaded from installing EV chargers on their property.”
Tesla testimony regarding Maryland HB 157

Maryland House Bill 157 and Senate Bill 146 were originally described as: “Prohibiting stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle that is not a plug-in electric vehicle in a parking space that is designated for the use of plug-in electric vehicles.”

California Got it Wrong

Unfortunately, Maryland’s “anti-ICEing” bills contain problematic language that GM bullied into California AB 475 in 2011. EV advocates including Plug In America tried to stop AB 475 before it became law. One compelling reason was that other states look to California when adopting electric vehicle policies. Unfortunately, the efforts of the EV community to overturn the wishes of General Motors were not successful. Therefore, we must continue to educate lawmakers on a state-by-state basis on the consequences of borrowing from the bad California “anti-ICEing” law.

Comments to the Federal Highway Administration on EV Charging Deployment

January 27, 2022November 30, 2022 Lanny

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will invest approximately $7.5 billion for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the US. The Department of Transportation (DOT), in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE), is required to develop guidance for States and localities to deploy electric vehicle charging. A Request for Information (RFI) was published under Docket No. FHWA-2021-0022 to invite public comments to inform the development of the Guidance for an Electric Vehicle Charging Program.

I submitted the following comments:

Docket No. FHWA-2021-0022
January 27, 2022

As an electric vehicle driver of nearly ten years, I appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Development of Guidance for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Deployment from an EV driver’s point of view. The consumer experience at public EV charging stations can have a profound effect on the success of charging infrastructure deployment.

Comments are directed at the EV Charging Program statutory considerations as indicated by their corresponding numbers below.

Statutory Consideration 1

50 miles is a reasonable distance between publicly available EV charging stations. This is especially critical for colder climates where the winter temperatures can reduce the range on battery electric vehicles.

Statutory Consideration 3

Priority should be given to EV charging infrastructure that is located at or near locations that have 24-hour amenities such as off-highway travel centers, fuel retailers, convenience stores, and local small businesses.

Columbia Gateway Crossing Workplace Charging Funded by Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022 Lanny

Ten Level 2 charging stations have recently been installed in the Gateway Crossing office complex in Columbia, Maryland.

These are some of the first workplace electric vehicle charging stations to be funded by the Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program (CAGP).

Columbia Gateway Crossing EV charging — 7175 Columbia Gateway Drive – Eight EV Charging Ports in Rear

There are four dual-port EV charging stations located in the rear of 7175 Columbia Gateway Drive. These will accommodate up to eight electric vehicles charging at the same time.

The stations at this address are already turned on and I’ve seen a Mustang Mach-E and a Tesla Model 3 there during the week. There is a credit card reader on each of the charging stations but I’m not sure if payment will be required or what the price will be.

Frederick County, Maryland Considers EV-Ready Ordinance

January 12, 2022September 28, 2022 Lanny

The following is a message from Council President MC Keegan-Ayer:

Bill 22-01 (Electric Vehicle Charging Stations) will be coming up for it’s second reading on February 15th. The Third reader and Council vote is scheduled for March 1st. This is the date that any amendments will be brought forward, if there are any.

If you’d like to make public comment on the Bill, the easiest way is to email your written comment to CouncilMembers@frederickcountymd.gov and these comments will be made part of the public record. This email will go to every Council Member, and you can email any time.
If you prefer to call in and give live comment on either date, you can call during the meeting:
855-925-2801, enter meeting code 8365
From here you can either leave a voicemail message (which will be played during the meeting) or enter a virtual queue to give live public comment.

For New Residential Construction

Frederick County Council President M.C. Keegan-Ayer has proposed an EV-Ready ordinance to ensure that new homes in the county will be able to have electric vehicle charging equipment easily installed in the future.

Frederick County has the third highest EV adoption in Maryland as measured in an August 2021 PlugInSites analysis.

The County Council of Frederick County, Maryland, finds it necessary and appropriate to amend the Frederick County Code to require electric vehicle charging infrastructure for charging electric vehicles in certain new residential structures by adding provisions to Chapter 1-6: BUILDINGS.

Fast Charger Utilization Study – Columbia / Jessup Q4-2021

January 7, 2022January 7, 2022 Lanny

This is an update of the Fast Charger Utilization Study published in October, 2021. I had tracked the electricity usage at four CCS/CHAdeMO fast charging sites plus a Tesla Supercharger in the area around Columbia and Jessup, Maryland. The original sample was during the three months of July, August, and September (Q3).

The purpose was to see how much usage the electric vehicle fast chargers were getting and to gauge the relative utilization between fast chargers located in the same general area.

The chart below is an update that reflects the average daily usage of those same chargers expressed as the approximate number of kWh dispensed per charger port during the last three months of 2021 (Q4).

The five charging stations are located in the area of Columbia and Jessup, Maryland near MD Rt. 175. They are accessible from Exit 41 of Interstate 95 which is midway between Washington, DC and Baltimore.

Charger Map

DC Area Tesla Superchargers as of January, 2022

January 4, 2022January 4, 2022 Lanny

20 Tesla Superchargers Added in the Washington, DC Area During 2021

2021 was a record year for the number of Tesla Superchargers installed in the greater Washington, DC area. Superchargers in the DMV grew by 20 sites last year. For comparison, Tesla opened 16 Supercharger sites in the same area in 2020.

The map above shows all of the Superchargers installed between 2012 and January 1, 2022 in Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia.

Today, there are nine nearby Supercharger sites known to be under construction. Listed below are the sites that are due to open soon in the greater Washington, DC area.

Bel Air, MD 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Beltsville, MD 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Bowie, MD 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Frederick, MD – Buckeystown Road, 8 stalls, 250 kW at Sheetz
Laurel, MD – Fort Meade Road 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Salisbury, MD – Ocean Highway 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Seaford, DE 8 stalls, 250 kW at Wawa
Urbana, MD 8 stalls, 250 kW at Royal Farms
Woodbridge, VA – PTC 8 stalls, 250 kW at Potomac Town Center