EV charging from a driver's perspective.
UPDATE: Governor Signs Tax Credit Extension
A bill to extend the excise tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles and for an income tax rebate for EV charging stations passed the Maryland House of Delegates (123-11) and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
HB 406, the Clean Cars Act of 2017, proposed by Governor Larry Hogan, is one of several bills that were filed this session that sought to renew the state’s commitment to provide incentives for electric vehicles and charging equipment.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s the day for wearing green, eating corned beef and cabbage and drinking green beer. In that spirit, here are some of my favorite green-colored Plug In Sites.
Above is a photo of the five ChargePoint stations in the garage at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve. These are some of the first public charging stations installed in Maryland in early 2012. At first there was a chronic problem with gas vehicles ICEing the charging spots. The hotel management was very eager to solve the problem. They tried painting green stripes on the floor and green text on the wall that read, “ELECTRIC CAR USE ONLY.” Gas cars still blocked the spots.
Next they painted the entire wall in front of the charging spots green with white text. That still didn’t work. Then they got official NO PARKING EXCEPT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING signs and the ICEing problem evaporated overnight. ICEing hasn’t been a major problem there since.
This charging site is at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis. This is the most vivid shade of green markings that I’ve ever seen! I’m all for using green pavement markings to supplement effective signs, I only oppose a mandate to require green paint in order to be enforceable. It’s hard to miss these green spots.
An Interview with Thomas A. Edison
Originally published in Electrical World – January 6, 1917
“The growth of the electric vehicle has been hindered by lack of charging facilities. Selling electric current is a mercantile business just like any other business. Not enough central stations realize this and very few search out every way that current may be marketed. As a result, undeveloped markets exist for the sale of central station energy. It’s a funny business when so few central stations realize that there is a waiting market for the sale of current for charging electric cars. The public is in the curious position of wanting to buy something for which there is no place to go.
“In my opinion the central station should go into the garage business and provide in this way the best means of furnishing a place to which the customer can go to buy what he wants, electric current, in the form of mileage.
Read More …
The Maryland General Assembly, 2017 Session is considering a number of bills related to electric vehicles and charging stations including a statewide anti-ICEing law, extending the tax credits for plug-in vehicles and charging equipment and installation of charging equipment at condominium or homeowners associations.
Black Ankle Vineyards has installed six electric vehicle charging stations at their tasting room near Mt. Airy, Maryland. This is one of the biggest Tesla destination charging locations in the mid-Atlantic region and perhaps the “highest-powered” vineyard with EV charging in the area.
The tasting room is located in a building made with straw bale construction and has solar panels on the roof. There is plenty of outdoor seating for those who want to bring a picnic in the warmer months. The day we visited in February, there were several indoor fireplaces going that gave the place a warm, cozy feeling.
The six charging stations are located separate from the main parking area and consist of three 80 Amp Tesla connectors and three 32 Amp ClipperCreek J-1772 stations.
Black Ankle Vineyards is located at 14463 Black Ankle Rd, Mount Airy, MD and is open Fridays from 12:00 pm until 8:30 pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm.
Tesla just made available real-time Supercharger status reporting to the Navigation screen. This update just showed up and it does not require a software update.
Now when traveling in a Tesla Model S or Model X, you can look and see how many stalls are available and choose to skip to the next Supercharging station if possible.
Thanks to @andrewket for the tip!
A hearing was held on SB301, Real Property – Installation and Use of Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment, in the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 7, 2017.
Video recording of the testimony on SB301 starts at 1:15 and runs for about 33 minutes.
SB301 Analysis: Fiscal and Policy Note: PDF
Now you can charge your electric car when you stay overnight at several West Virginia State Park lodges.
Cacapon Resort, located about 100 miles from Washington, DC, is one of three West Virginia State Parks to install EV charging stations for overnight guests. Pipestem and Twin Falls also have EV charging.
Cacapon has two 30-Amp, Level 2, J-1772 charging ports made by Schneider Electric that are located in the main parking area of the lodge.
Read More …
There are a number of bills that have already been introduced in the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly that will affect electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Senate Bill (SB) 301 would lift restrictions against installing electric vehicle charging equipment at condominium or homeowners associations and establish requirements and procedures for owners and the governing bodies of condos or HOAs to handle a request to install EV charging equipment.
This bill is based on California Assembly Bill (AB) 2565 which gives multi-unit housing tenants the right to install a charging station at their residence as long as the tenant pays for the costs of installation, maintenance, electricity and subsequent removal upon moving. Many people in Maryland live in multi-unit housing. The issue that this bill attempts to address is important to solve to achieve the full potential of electric vehicle adoption in Maryland.
Read More …
Maryland State Delegate Clarence Lam has introduced a bill to penalize “ICEing” if a charging station has a specific sign and the space is marked with green paint. The bill, HB 36, [PDF link] is the fifth attempt at “anti-ICEing” legislation in the Maryland General Assembly.
The language of HB 36 is identical to HB 839 that passed the House in the 2016 Session but didn’t have time to make it through the Senate. This time, the bill will have a much earlier start and should be able to easily pass the House again, as long as there are no significant changes to the bill. The hope is that there will be more time to also get it passed in the Senate in 2017.
If the Maryland anti-ICEing bill becomes law, will all charging spots therefore be enforceable? Unfortunately, no. The majority of charging stations in Maryland do not have signs that conform to the state and federal parking sign standards specified in HB 36 and/or don’t have green pavement markings. Each charging station operator or site host must take the initiative to post the official signs that include stating the maximum fine of $100 and they must also apply and maintain green pavement markings in order to comply with the bill’s enforcement provisions.