Cities Can’t Ban Plug-In Hybrids from Charging Under New California Law

Lanny

Will Likely End Beverly Hills Ban on PHEV Charging

The City of Beverly Hills, California changed their Electric Vehicle Charging Policy on April 2, 2018 in an effort designed to encourage more efficient use of the city’s 35 public charging stations. One of the key changes to the policy was to prohibit plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from charging.

The policy had been developed by the Beverly Hills Traffic & Parking Commission and approved by the City Council and implemented EV charging fees, defined signage to reserve charging spots exclusively for battery-only electric vehicles and implemented a new enforcement regulation to fine and/or tow all other vehicles including plug-in hybrids, gas-only vehicles and any BEV not actively charging.

Bill SB 1000, authored by California State Senator Ricardo Lara, passed the legislature and was signed by Gov. Brown last week. The bill contained a provision that prohibited local municipalities from restricting access to public EV charging stations that are funded using state or ratepayer money.

65850.9. (a) A city, county, or city and county shall not restrict which types of electric vehicles, including, but not limited to, plug-in hybrid vehicles, may access an electric vehicle charging station approved for passenger vehicles that both is publicly accessible and the construction of which was funded, at least in part, by the state or through moneys collected from ratepayers.

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Hurricane Florence EV Drivers Evacuation Update

Lanny


Tesla owners in the path of Hurricane Florence received a message on their car’s screen on Wednesday notifying them that Supercharging would be free until mid-October. Owners in the affected area with cars that were built with a 75 kWh battery pack but sold as a 60 kWh with the capacity being limited via software were notified that they would have access to the entire capacity for a time during and after the natural disaster.

Tesla had also unlocked the capacity of those batteries so that owners could more easily escape Hurricane Irma which hit Florida last year.

I’ve created a page to provide a Resource for EV Drivers Affected by Hurricane Florence.

Thanks Green Car Reports for helping to spread the word with the following article: Web site helps electric car drivers evacuate Florence, Tesla extends range

Please be safe if you are in Florence’s path.

Resource for EV Drivers Affected by Hurricane Florence

Lanny
Remember to take your charging cable and all adapters if you need to evacuate.

This page was created on September 10, 2018 as Hurricane Florence threatened the East Coast and evacuations were being prepared in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Officials were saying to keep a full tank of gas as part of personal preparations for the approaching storm. This is a resource for electric vehicle drivers affected by Hurricane Florence.

Electric Vehicle Travel

You won’t need to worry about gas shortages if you drive an electric car but you should be aware that charging stations may become congested during a natural disaster, evacuation distances may exceed the range of a single charge and EV chargers may become unavailable due to power outages or flooded roads.

Please follow the advice of your local officials on preparation and evacuation.

This page will regularly be updated. Check back often for additional resources and follow @PlugInSites on Twitter. Send any tips or questions to lanny@pluginsites.org

Be safe.

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EVgo Fast Charger Site Opens in Silver Spring, MD

Lanny

Silver Spring EVgo Charger
CCS/CHAdeMO Fast Charging Station in North Silver Spring, Maryland

A new EVgo charging station with six dual-port CCS/CHAdeMO Fast Chargers has opened in a hotel parking lot in North Silver Spring, Maryland near Route 29 and Cherry Hill Road.

This is one of only a few charging sites in the US that have more than two dual CCS/CHAdeMO DC Fast Chargers together at a single location. Six chargers together is even more rare and the few that do exist are mostly in California.

There is one other six-stall fast charging location in Maryland at Nottingham Commons in White Marsh, about 2 miles east of the White Marsh Blvd. Exit off I-95, that opened a few weeks before this one.

These 50 kW charging stations made by BTC Power, Inc., are on the EVgo network.

The North Silver Spring EVgo charging station is at the Courtyard by Marriott at 12521 Prosperity Dr., Silver Spring, MD.

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Maryland Announces Draft Plan for VW Settlement Money

Lanny

Maryland VW Settlement

Draft Plan Includes Approximately $11.3 Million for Maryland EV Charging Infrastructure

Update: Listening Session Scheduled

A listening session has been scheduled for the VW Settlement Mitigation Plan for August 20, 2018 from 10:00 AM to noon at the Maryland Department of the Environment, at 1800 Washington Blvd, Baltimore. Full details here.

Maryland officials released a draft mitigation plan for spending $75.7 million from a settlement reached with Volkswagen over an emissions testing “defeat devices” case that proposes to fund measures to help improve air quality including replacing older diesel engine powered equipment and installing electric vehicle charging stations.

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) along with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) developed the Draft Plan that must be submitted to the Trustee overseeing the mitigation funds once the 30 day public comment period is over and Maryland finalizes the Draft Plan.

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 intends to utilize the allowed maximum of 15% of Volkswagen Trust funds, or about $11.3 million, for the deployment of EV charging infrastructure.

The Draft Plan notes that MEA has awarded over $3.3 million toward installing 77 DC Fast Chargers at 46 locations, with matching grants that has leveraged more than $4.5 million in private funding of charging infrastructure in recent years. Read More …

Baltimore Supercharger Under Construction

Lanny

Baltimore Tesla Supercharger Sign
A Tesla Supercharging Station is under construction in a parking garage at 1641 Whetstone Way, Baltimore, Maryland. There are eight stalls going in on the second floor of the East Parking garage in front of Harris Teeter by McHenry Row in the Locust Point neighborhood.

A concrete step has already been poured along the south wall at the top of the ramp leading to the second floor. Eight red Tesla signs have been posted along the wall. Two spaces are dedicated to Tesla Vehicle Charging Only with the remaining six labeled 30 Minute General Parking.

This garage has solar panels over the top deck because of the Maryland Energy Administration’s Parking Lot Solar PV Canopy with Electric Vehicle Charger Grant Programof 2014.

There are two existing GE Level 2 charging stations on the ground floor in the SE corner, one ChargePoint L2 on the NE corner and several SemaConnect charging stations in the NW corner on the second level.
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Bill Introduced to Lift 200,000 Vehicle Cap on EV Tax Credit

Lanny

US Capitol PlugInSites EV Tax Credit

Vermont Congressman Seeks to Extend $7,500 EV Tax Credit

The $7,500 federal EV tax credit will soon begin to wind down for manufacturers such as Tesla and GM when they reach the point of delivering 200,000 electric vehicles in the US.

Under the current law, the full $7,500 tax credit will be available for a particular manufacturer’s cars through the end of the quarter in which the 200k EVs milestone is reached and also through the following quarter. Then, all the plug-in vehicles sold by that manufacturer will be eligible for 50% of the vehicle credit for two more quarters. The credit then goes down to 25% for two quarters and then it completely goes away for that manufacturer’s vehicles.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced a bill to eliminate the per manufacturer cap and make the credit available to an unlimited number of EV buyers for the next ten years.

H.R.6274 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain tax credits related to electric cars, and for other purposes, is co-sponsored by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV). The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. A Senate version of the bill is expected to be filed by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Read More …

Supercharger Planned for Tysons, Virginia

Lanny

Tesla Supercharger Plans Tysons, VA

Tesla plans to build a Supercharging Station at Tysons Corner Center according to documents submitted to Fairfax County, Virginia and obtained by PlugInSites through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Plans show ten charging stalls located on the west side of Garage B on Level 1. The garage is near Bloomingdale’s at the corner of Rt. 7/Leesburg Pike and International Drive.

Tysons Supercharger Site Plan

The site drawings show that the installation will have the new 72 kW “urban” style Superchargers. Tysons may be the first in the Washington, DC area with these, more compact, charging posts. The urban Superchargers were introduced in September, 2017 and are designed to occupy less space and be easier to install, especially in city parking garages. Read More …

Indian River Marina at Delaware Seashore State Park

Lanny

Indian River Marina EV Charging station © PluInSites

The Indian River Marina at Delaware Seashore State Park now has a SemaConnect EV charging station for public use. The marina is located off of Route 1 between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach and is within walking distance to swimming and sunbathing at the ocean. The park boasts of six miles of ocean and bay shoreline.

Visitors to the marina can grab a bite to eat at Hammerheads Dockside restaurant. In addition to boating, the area is popular for hiking and bird watching. If you are looking to stay longer, you can rent a cottage at Indian River Inlet.

Delaware was early to add a statewide network of EV charging stations under the Charging Up Delaware program in 2015 under a partnership between the University of Delaware and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). In 2016, the Delaware Division of Parks & Recreation was approved for a grant to install two D.C. Fast Charging Stations at Blue Ball Barn in Wilmington and Indian River Marina. Neither of those fast chargers have been installed. Perhaps plans changed and this Level 2 was located here instead.

The charging station is free to use and does not require a card as of June, 2018.

Annapolis, Maryland Supercharger Under Construction

Lanny

Annapolis Tesla Supercharger
Construction has begun on a Tesla Supercharging Station in the parking garage at 217 Harker Place at Annapolis Towne Centre. There appear to be eight diagonal pull-in stalls going in at the NW corner on the ground second floor.

A Tesla Supercharger in Annapolis has been talked about for years. Several locations have been rumored or speculated during that time including the Annapolis Towne Centre which is managed by the same company that has the Towne Centre at Laurel where the Laurel Supercharger opened in 2016.

The Tesla “Find Us” webpage says that the Annapolis Supercharger is targeted to open this summer. Tesla has also identified Baltimore as targeted for a Supercharger this summer. Stay tuned. Read More …