If you can't get home without a charge, you should've bought a pure EV
Who has more rights to a public charging station, pure battery electric plug-ins, such as the Nissan Leaf that have limited range, or plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevy Volt, which can always just use gasoline power?
That’s become the issue regarding California Assembly Bill 475 that is once again pitting GM against pure electric car advocates and owners.
Range anxiety? It’s a non-issue with the Chevy Volt, right? That’s why the Volt was created in the first place, to overcome range anxiety. So, whom has more right to a public plug-in charging station, someone in a Volt that just wants free electricity, or someone in a Nissan Leaf that isn’t going to make it home without a charge?
Seriously, should the Volt even have access to public charging stations? Of course it should, but let’s be honest, pure EVs need public chargers more than Volts do.
Anyway, EV Charger Law Spawning New GM Image Woes? , an AutoObserver article, covers this very interesting debate going on in California, which is headed to the Governor’s office.
Nevertheless, here’s my take. First, there should be no such thing as free public charging, except during non-peak hours, PERIOD. If a business wants to offer free charging, that’s fine, but a state like California that is many billions of dollars in debt should not. The federal government is already offering up a huge tax credit, as are many states, like California, to help subsidize the purchase of plug-in vehicles.
If that’s not enough, then plug-ins are a joke upon the US energy independence movement, at least until a major battery breakthrough is achieved, and even worse, a clever distraction.
But, take this idea and shove it
The idea of giving away free electricity during peak hours is offensive, inefficient and even counter-productive to the point of plug-ins, especially to someone whom has survived numerous brownouts and blackouts. Sure, it might work to entice more early adopters, but it isn’t a model to be carried forward. It’s just another policy that kicks the can of real energy issues down the road.
Ultimately, plug-in drivers need to work with the companies they work for, the businesses they visit, etc. to create smart-charging COOPs, for instance, and other arrangements, especially ones focused on renewable energy. Either way, smart charging offers numerous options for both businesses and end users — plug-in drivers — to fairly share costs, or even profits.
At the end of the day There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. And, without at least some respect to TINSTAAFL, plug-ins will remain niche toys for upper class, college-educated, white folk. And that’s just not the path to the kind of revolution that plug-ins are capable of leading.
