Californians: Please sign the petition for DC Fast Charging

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tgreene

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2015
Messages
13
I'm new here and am asking for your help in petitioning the California Energy Commission to install a network of DC fast charging stations to allow long distance EV travel in our state. The CEC is spending about $100M of our taxpayer money a year on alternative vehicle infrastructure with the goal of reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions. They spent about $22M on EV charging infrastructure over the past 2 years, but this has included only 9 DCFC stations, none outside of metro areas. They plan to spend $18M on EV charging in the next fiscal year, with only a few DCFC stations outside of metro areas.

Tony Williams, myself, and others have individually followed, conversed, and engaged with the CEC to urge them to deploy a network of DCFC stations to allow long distance EV travel in our state. The CEC has politely brushed us off. It is clear that they are under pressure to send funding to their established transportation "stakeholders" (Hydrogen, biofuels, natural gas, etc.), and the voices of a few individuals are not going to impact their actions. I recently started a petition to urge the CEC to invest in a DCFC network to enable long distance EV travel in CA. About 200 people have signed it so far, but the signings have stalled and we need a LOT more people to sign it in order to impact the CEC's plans.

Speaking for the 200 supporters so far, I'm asking the California Leaf community to strongly support this effort. Leaf drivers will gain a lot from a long distance DCFC network, and the large number of you can really make a big impact! I think that we'll need 1000 signatures to make an impression on the CEC, and I will personally deliver the petition to the appropriate manager at one of their meetings if we hit this number by the end of March.

If you want to see your existing taxpayer money build a DCFC network, then please:
1. Go to the link below and sign the petition
2. Pass on the link and a request for support to your family, friends, colleagues, social / work circles
3. Post your request and the link on Facebook and your other social networks (e.g. the Nextdoor neighborhood community, google+, etc.)

We really need your help in doing all 3 things above to make this happen!

Petition Link:
https://www.change.org/p/california-energy-commission-install-a-network-of-dc-fast-chargers-to-enable-long-distance-ev-travel-in-california-this-year" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


The latest CEC plan and progress report is here:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2014publications/CEC-600-2014-009/CEC-600-2014-009-SD-REV.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


PETITION TEXT:

Increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) are important for meeting California's goals of reducing carbon emissions. Some of the largest barriers to adoption are range anxiety and the inability to drive EVs long distances in our state without long stops for charging.

Deploying a network of DC fast charging (DCFC) stations along long-distance transportation corridors will enable long-distance EV travel in California, a new mode of EV travel. Establishing this network will benefit current EV users as well as draw many more people to EVs since this would reduce range anxiety as well as demonstrate that long-distance travel is practical. This network is also needed to make EVs practical for residents of the Central Valley and rural areas who require frequent long-distance travel.

DCFC investments by the CEC would also be leveraged by the existing and well-used West Coast Electric Highway that has been established by our progressive neighbor states Oregon and Washington. Extending the West Coast Electric highway to California would enable EV travel from San Diego (and Baja California) to British Columbia, making EV adoption even more attractive in our state.

It is important for this long-distance DCFC network to be deployed ASAP, with significant capability in place by the end of the 2015 calendar year. There are currently over 120,000 EVs in California, so there would be a large user base for this network right away. GM, Nissan, and other auto vendors have committed to producing more models of extended (150-200+ mi) range vehicles by the end of 2016, so the long-distance DCFC user base would grow rapidly.

The CEC currently invests on the order of $20M per year on EV infrastructure, but it has funded only 9 DCFC stations to date at an average cost of only $15,000 each (per the Jan. 2015 report, CEC-600-2014-009-SD-REV). An initial network of several dozen DCFC stations could be deployed for about 10% of the CEC's annual EV infrastructure expenditures.

We urge the CEC to implement a network of DCFCs along transportation corridors to enable long-distance EV travel in our state. This project is well-suited for the CEC to lead because it is a statewide effort that goes beyond the interests of any single region. Please show some vision and leadership by implementing a long-distance EV DCFC network in California this year.
 
Thank you for posting this!

I just posted a similar message but with more background info in another category / topic:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=19269" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It would be most helpful if residents of California signed the petition, but all people are welcome.
 
Thanks to everybody who has signed so far.

If you haven't signed, then please get to it! :D
Also remember to share it amongst your family, friends, and social networks. The change.org page even lets you post it to facebook directly.

We've gotten about 15 signatures since posting the announcement here a day ago. Are there more than 15 Leaf drivers in California who want their state to invest in a a long distance DCFC network (aka West Coast Electric Highway)? We will need hundreds more to have an impact.
 
I'd rather see this happen then the stupid train to nowhere that costs hundreds of billions.
 
Thanks to everybody to has signed the petition - we now have over 250 signatures!

That said, we still have a long way to go if we are going to hit 1000.
Please continue to sign the petition and share the link with family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, EV groups etc. via email, facebook, Nextdoor, and your other networks.


I have also completed a first draft on the current status and near-term plans for long distance DCFC networks in California:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6_jAu2M0SmUZTRlYnNkZUdOakE/view?usp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Thank you Paul, JasonA, and others for your support!

We are now at 277 signatures - a hopefully we can get to 500 soon IF people sign and repost / circulate it. Today the California Energy Commission contacted the Sacramento EV Association for input on where to put the next round of DCFCs - good news! Hopefully this petition can convince them to move more quickly - IF we can get the signatures.

BTW it is taking about 2 years between the CEC's last solicitation and when the chosen DCFCs will be operational. Gotta make that happen faster.
 
Do any more Leaf drivers in California want more DC fast chargers?

The petition now has 285 signatures, with few or zero signings over the past day. We really should get this to at least 500 to make an impact with the California Energy Commission. Please sign today if you haven't already (link in 1st post)!

-Tom
 
GRA said:
I'm going to pass. With VW/BMW/Nissan now going to build them plus the major CA utilities all trying to get in on the act, I see no reason to throw more tax money at this.

Your tax money is being spent anyway by the CEC: the legislature has mandated that certain amounts of $ be spent every year.
Would you rather see your money go into natural gas or hydrogen fueling stations instead of DCFCs?

It is going to take a LOT of DCFCs to enable long-distance travel over numerous highways in CA: much more than what VW/BMW/Nissan are installing.
 
DesertSprings said:
Have you posted this on the SF Bay Area and San Diego Leaf Owners groups on Facebook?

No, I haven't. I'm not a Leaf owner and I don't have a Facebook account.

It would be great if you copied the first post of this thread to those places though!
 
Valdemar said:
Long distance travel with 50kW chargers, really? I'd rather see more chargers installed in cities.

So is L2 better than 50kW for freeway charging?

The real issue is that Leaf batteries are too small. You can only charge for about 15 minutes at a high rate. Not efficient when you factor in the time to get off and back onto the freeway. 100kW would save you only a few minutes because you'd be even MORE dominated by the fwy on / off times.

There are other EVs than Leafs. 50kW works better if you have a 40 kWh battery. Then you can get 25 kWh in 30 min plus the fwy on / off time. Of course 100 kW would be better...

There are 100kW CHAdeMo chargers now, and we are recommending them to alternate with 50 kW ones.
 
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