Mount Rushmore Solar Canopy and EV Charging Stations

Lanny
Mount Rushmore Solar Canopy and EV charging sttions
photo: Xanterra Travel Collection

The Four Presidents on Mt. Rushmore Look Upon a More Sustainable Future

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota will have the second largest solar installation in the state. The new Thomas Jefferson Solar Canopy was installed by park concessioner Xanterra Travel Collection which operates the parking facility.  The photovoltaic array on the top level of the parking structure will generate over half of the electricity used by the gift shop and restaurant at Mount Rushmore. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Earth Day, April, 22, 2019.

Six electric vehicle charging stations are planned to be installed within the next month. Tesla donated three Tesla chargers and three universal Level 2 charging stations that will be free for visitors to use. There is a fee to park at Mount Rushmore National Memorial which is valid for the calendar year issued.

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2019 Maryland Electric Vehicle Legislation Wrap-up

Lanny
Maryland State House

Hydrogen Fuel Cells, EV Tax Credit & Electric School Bus Bills Advanced

The 90-day Maryland lawmaking session adjourned yesterday at midnight. PlugInSites has been tracking over a dozen electric vehicle related bills in Annapolis since the General Assembly convened in January. Three of them managed to pass both chambers and are headed to Governor Hogan to sign.

The Clean Cars Act of 2019, HB 1246, was a collaboration between Governor Hogan’s Administration and Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo. It will expand the state’s efforts to support Zero Emission Vehicles to include Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars. The role of Maryland’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC) will begin to include promoting the utilization of fuel cell electric vehicles as well as plug-ins. The council will be renamed the Maryland Zero Emission Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (ZEEVIC).

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ChargePoint Loses Appeal in EV Charging Patent Case

Lanny
ChargePoint v SemaConnect Appeal

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in Favor of SemaConnect

Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision of a lower court in a dispute over an EV charging patent case brought by electric vehicle charging company ChargePoint, Inc. of Campbell, CA against a competitor, SemaConnect, Inc. of Bowie, MD.

Just over one year ago, Judge Marvin J. Garbis, of the U. S. District Court in Baltimore dismissed a lawsuit brought by ChargePoint that alleged that SemaConnect had infringed four patents in the area of networked electric vehicle charging stations. The lower court judge found all of the patent claims asserted by ChargePoint were invalid.

The judge had agreed with SemaConnect’s defense that the patents were invalid because the claims were drawn to an abstract idea, and the method of implementing those claims was not enough to transform the abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.

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Annapolis, MD Supercharger is Open

Lanny
Annapolis, MD Supercharger

The Annapolis, MD Supercharger at Annapolis Towne Centre is now officially on the map. It’s located on the second floor of the parking garage at 217 Harker Place across from Target.

Annapolis fills the gap between the Laurel Supercharger and the Tesla Supercharger in Grasonville, which is at a Royal Farms on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Construction on the Tesla Supercharger in Annapolis began in May, 2018. The installation has, by all outward appearances, been completed since last summer. The site took many months to finally come online. The Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits website (Permit No. E02332269) shows records of a long delay between a successful progress inspection on June 18, 2018 to a series of failed final inspections recorded between July 17, 2018 and March 4, 2019.

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Dealing With Crap at a Charging Station

Lanny

What a mess. I pulled into a spot near an EVgo charging station at my local Trader Joe’s this morning. Trash was strewn everywhere. Fast food wrappers, plastic sauce containers, a paper bag and napkins. Did someone have a late night party here?

I hopped out of the car for a closer inspection. That’s when I saw it. A big pile of crap laying naked on the pavement. Right next to ERDEM, the anthropomorphic name that EVgo has given to the CCS/CHAdeMO charger. I didn’t come today to charge, I came to pick up a few items at TJ’s that I didn’t get at the MOM’s Organic Market that I had just come from.

I turned away from the poop and hurried toward the store lest I catch a downwind whiff. As I circulated the store to find my groceries, thoughts gnawed at me. What if an unsuspecting EV driver, eager to get a quick charge, hops out of their car and plants a foot squarely into that squishy pile?

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Maryland Releases VW Mitigation Plan – $11.3 Million for EV Charging

Lanny

SemaConnect Maple Lawn

Plan to be Submitted to Trustee

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) released its Volkswagen Mitigation Plan yesterday (PDF). The plan details spending of $75.7 million that the state is eligible to receive under a settlement agreement with Volkswagen.

A draft plan for the VW settlement money was released by MDE on August 1, 2018. Public comments were solicited for the next 30 days and two listening sessions were held including one at MDE headquarters in Baltimore on August 20, 2018. Feedback received during the 30 day public comment period is said to be incorporated into this version.

The Plan will now be submitted to the Trustee overseeing the Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement funds.

Full Allowable 15% Going to EV Charging Infrastructure

The Settlement Agreement limits the amount of funds that can be used for Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure investment to 15% of the total funds allocated to the state. Maryland plans to use the allowed maximum, or about $11.3 million, to deploy EV charging infrastructure.
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Maryland EV Legislation Update – February 8, 2019

Lanny

Maryland Capitol Annapolis

Tracking EV-Related Bills in the Maryland General Assembly

Here is a list of bills in the Maryland legislature that we are watching as of 2/21/19.

SB 70 – Vehicle Laws – HOV Lanes – Plug-In Electric Drive and Hybrid Vehicles

SB 78 – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Excise Tax Credit – Sunset – Repeal

SB 168 / HB 151 – Clean Cars Act of 2019

SB 316 – Vehicle Laws – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicles – Reserved Parking Spaces

SB 822 – Real Property – Installation and Use of Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment

SB 987 – Public Safety – Building Codes – Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

SB 998 – Public Service Commission – Electric Vehicle Infrastructure – Prior Authorization

HB 72 – Extension of Electric Vehicle Incentives Act

HB 826 – Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment for Multi–Family Units Act

HB 1180 – Maryland Energy Administration – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Rebate Program

HB 1246 – Plug–In Electric Drive Vehicle Excise Tax Credit

HB 1255 – School Bus Purchasing – Zero-Emission Vehicle – Requirement

HB 1331 – Public Utilities – Electric Vehicle Charging Station Infrastructure – Task Force

Electric Vehicle Legislation Tracker – 2019

Follow the latest developments at the PlugInSites Electric Vehicle Legislation Tracker.

Electrify America Announces Partial Shutdown of Network

Lanny

Electrify America Hagerstown

Potential Safety Concern With Cables

Electrify America tonight announced that the company is voluntarily shutting down the majority of their fast chargers at the recommendation of a supplier of high-powered charging cables used in their equipment. The company said that the 150 kW – 350 kW chargers that are equipped with HUBER+SUHNER supplied liquid-cooled cables are being disabled while a potential safety issue is investigated.

Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America said, “The safety of our customers is our highest priority. Out of an abundance of caution, Electrify America is shutting down all of our stations that use the HUBER+SUHNER high-powered cables until we can confirm that they can be operated safely. We are confident that HUBER+SUHNER will investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
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Fuel Cell Support Required in Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2019

Lanny

Hydrogen Fueling Station
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has requested the Clean Cars Act of 2019 which proposes to increase the annual funding and expand the electric vehicle excise tax credit for electric vehicles to include the purchase of fuel cell electric vehicles. Funding would increase from $3,000,000 to $6,000,000 through fiscal year 2020.

As part of the proposal, Governor Hogan wants to alter the role and reconfigure the membership of the Maryland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC) to additionally promote fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The EVIC, created by legislation in 2011, is tasked with helping to increase the number of plug-in electric vehicles registered in the state and to increase the size of the publicly available EV charging network in order to help the state reach its clean air and greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The Clean Cars Act of 2019 (SB168 & HB151) would rename the EVIC to the Maryland Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Council. Three new members would be appointed by the Governor including representatives of manufacturers of fuel cell electric vehicle infrastructure equipment, manufacturers of fuel cell electric vehicles and a representative of the business community in the state.

Two current members would be removed, the representative of the Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative (BEVI) and one of the two representatives of electric companies. Pepco and BGE are both currently on the Council.
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