I have been reading recently of President Biden's aim of getting 500,000 EV charging stations installed across the US. I got to thinking about some of the ramifications of having such a network. Just off the top of my head, here are a few considerations that I was thinking about--I'd love to see a discussion here of others' thoughts:
1. I would presume that all of these stations would serve to provide charging for all brands of EVs. Would that imply that a standard physical charging interface (plug, software, etc.) would be mandated? Or would stations be brand-specific (think SuperChargers)?
2. Presumably, station owners would be free to price according to market demands. However, I'm wondering what the pricing model would look like. It would seem to me that pricing would need to be based on at least three criteria: number of electrons provided, the speed at which those electrons were delivered, and amount of time a specific kiosk/pump (or whatever you'd call it) was occupied (you'd need some way to discourage EV owners for using the pumps as overnight parking spaces).
3. Should the charging rate be customer-selectable at the pump? Perhaps a slower rate might satisfy some owners' pocketbooks better, but then that would mean the pump would be occupied longer.
4. It's helpful to have remote access to charging status. Should a standard capability to to provide this information in real time be mandated?
The whole concept of a nationwide, non-EV-brand specific, network of stations is laudable, but fraught, IMO. I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this. If this subject has been dissected elsewhere, would welcome pointers/links.
1. I would presume that all of these stations would serve to provide charging for all brands of EVs. Would that imply that a standard physical charging interface (plug, software, etc.) would be mandated? Or would stations be brand-specific (think SuperChargers)?
2. Presumably, station owners would be free to price according to market demands. However, I'm wondering what the pricing model would look like. It would seem to me that pricing would need to be based on at least three criteria: number of electrons provided, the speed at which those electrons were delivered, and amount of time a specific kiosk/pump (or whatever you'd call it) was occupied (you'd need some way to discourage EV owners for using the pumps as overnight parking spaces).
3. Should the charging rate be customer-selectable at the pump? Perhaps a slower rate might satisfy some owners' pocketbooks better, but then that would mean the pump would be occupied longer.
4. It's helpful to have remote access to charging status. Should a standard capability to to provide this information in real time be mandated?
The whole concept of a nationwide, non-EV-brand specific, network of stations is laudable, but fraught, IMO. I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this. If this subject has been dissected elsewhere, would welcome pointers/links.