Is rural America ready for electric cars? And where will you charge your fees? Ford F-150 Lightning or Tesla Cybertruck when out in a long farm errands?
Although a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee earlier this month included plenty of evidence that rural America isn’t ready for EVs — put into what many will hear as the category of “fear, uncertainty, and doubt” doubt” — an area that has come up with a more optimistic vision to get more out of far-flung places: gas stations and convenience stores.
“Companies that currently power transportation for motorists are well positioned to play a key role in decarbonizing the transportation sector through the sale of cleaner liquid fuels and other technologies. alternative technologies, such as electricity,” said Trevor Walter, vice president of petroleum supply management. for Sheetz, testified before Congress earlier this month on behalf of the company and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). “We want to work with Congress to help achieve our market-oriented and consumer-friendly environmental goals.”
Sheetz convenience store location with EV sạc charging
Simply put, fuel retailers say that with 150,000 locations in the US, they are the cure for range anxiety. They can also help provide fee-based services in cities for apartment or condo dwellers, or for renters who don’t have garage access.
According to testimony, 93% of Americans live within 10 minutes of a fuel retail location, many of which include food service and restrooms. “These businesses are especially important in rural areas of the country, where there may not be many large businesses. In these locations, convenience stores serve not only as fuel pick-ups, but often as grocery stores and community hubs,” NACS testimony states.
The convenience store industry has pointed to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), which began in 2005, as a template for how this could happen. That standard created a market incentive for retailers to invest in what is needed to meet higher levels of biofuels — primarily corn ethanol.
“Fuel retailers have invested in renewable fuels, and existing alternative fuel incentives allow retailers to offer lower-carbon fuels to consumers at prices they are willing to pay. buy,” the testimony argued.
Highway sign for the electric vehicle fast charging station at BP in the Metrolina area of Charlotte, NC
Furthermore, convenience store operators are demanding federal money be given to private-sector operators who are putting their capital at risk — not utility providers who can afford it. distribute extra costs to their fixed-price payers, or effectively avoid their own demanding fees.
And that leads to a key point that convenience stores have allied with each other: wholesale pricing and on-demand charge reform, which can make those rarely used rural fast chargers too expensive. to be sustainable. On the other hand, it views utilities and cost structures as imposing “large regressive costs on lower-income Americans.”
“That will make the economy work not only for retailers but, more importantly, for consumers,” the affidavit summarizes.
As we’ve outlined a number of times, convenience stores and gas stations aren’t always located in places that make sense for fast charging — largely because of their location relative to the grid. But with new solutions using battery buffersthe fast charger can be placed almost anywhere.
FreeWire Boost charger at convenience store
The retailers’ statements make it clear that they are not bound by gasoline and diesel: “While it is not known what fuels they sell to meet consumer demand, industry members They believe that the fuel is best for American consumers and America’s industrial position in the world market for reasonably low and stable energy prices. ”
So it’s hard to imagine a fuel with a more stable price structure than electricity — given a solution to the fee need. Based on recent comments from a top BP executive, major multinational energy companies see light at the end of the tunnel for gas stations, claiming that, on a profit basis, , fast chargers are almost as profitable as gas pumps.
It is often seen as a dilemma over how to bring more electric vehicles to rural America. As federal data clearly shows, there is a dearth of charging in the middle of the US, roughly on a diagonal from the Montana and Dakotas down to Mississippi and Alabama. And in general, the density of public chargers is related to the rate of EV ownership.
As Bloomberg pointed out in a recent article, an upgraded, greener grid system for rural America, something targeted as a major part of the infrastructure bill, would be the backbone. not just for fees, but for new businesses — and new jobs. Without it, the lack of access to toll collection in rural areas could become another digital divider.
Jack Colker Union 96 gas station in Beverly Hills, via oobject.com
And this isn’t the first time the federal government has stepped in to build the grid. By 1930, only 10% of US farms were connected to the grid, and by the end of World War II, only 40% of US farms had electricity. Just to get rural America connected to electricity in the first place was a federal loan, administered by the Rural Electrification Authority established in 1936.
“Until consumers see alternatives like electricity at the stores they’re currently refueling in, they won’t be adopting those alternatives in bulk,” the NACS summarizes without saying. any further backing.
The vast majority of EV drivers will prefer to rarely have to charge anywhere but their driveway or garage. But beyond the early adopters, and beyond the cities and suburbs, are they justified?
