What the Frunk Friday | EV Community Edition
The EV community is growing and they're givers when it comes to content! Below are some great reads, video recaps and threads on EV ownership. Next week, we dish on free EV charging locations.
By Grant Gerke, Senior EV Ambassador
This week’s edition includes five pieces of content on EV ownership: new fast charging stations in Colorado, a condo charging guide from Rocky Mountain Tesla via Youtube, a long commute with a Hyundai Ioniq, a video recap of Car and Driver’s 1,000 mile EV race and an exciting renewable energy solution from David Roberts, from Feb 2021, that shows how a project is burying high voltage power lines to deliver wind power from Iowa to the Chicago suburbs.
1 | Colorado’s Scenic Byways Could Be Your First Electric Road Trip
After spending more than a week traveling in an EV while on vacation, this article rings true: Colorado’s Scenic Byways. The new EV charging installations — Level 3 — allow for EV drivers to find more remote and nature-filled fun, as Colorado ramps up its Level 3 Fast Charging state implementation. The first sentenced pull me in, along with the stunning images:
In Colorado, Leave No Trace principles—guidelines that minimize your impact on the environment—are practically gospel.
2 | Can You Have Home Charging in a Condo? — From Rocky Mountain Tesla
I reached out to Ryan Jarymy, Rocky Mountain Tesla, when I was working at PlugShare due to his new Tesla Model 3 purchase and his condo charging situation in Calgary. Jarymy’s video reveals some of the challenges and the work Unico Power did inside the garage, energy monitoring additions and electrical work. This is a great introduction to condo charging and reach out to Ryan via Rocky Mountain Tesla on Youtube if you have any questions.
3 | EV Commute with Sergio Rodriguez
Sergio Rodriguez is a serious EV adopter and consumer. He’s purchased a Hyundai Ioniq EV, a Model Y Tesla and a Ford Mach-e vehicle. My tweet, see below, was incorrect since the Hyundai Ionqi has 170 miles of range. Below is twitter exchange with Sergio on how he used his Ioniq on his commute with the Hyundai. [** Wish you could find the Ioniq in more markets, saw quite a few when I was working at PlugShare in Los Angeles.]
4 | Car and Driver’s 1,000 Mile Race with 11 EVs (7:10)
This is an informative, short video on driving long distances, current issues with EV charging stations (non-Teslas) and the amount of EV models out there. Must watch.
5 | Transmission Fortnight: Burying Power Lines Next to Rail and Roads to make a National Transmission Grid
This is great read or listen by David Roberts about moving renewable power via buried, underground HVDC cables next to a railroad line from Iowa to Chicago. And, it’s happening. Not a concept, it’s moving along via Direct Connect. The eminent domain of the railway means no bureaucratic hassles with land owners and removes the tricky rights-of-way for above ground electricity towers to carry renewable power. SOO Green is the project name and look at these highlights:
A company called Direct Connect is currently in the development and permitting phase of a privately financed, $2.5 billion project called the SOO Green HVDC Link, a proposed 349-mile, 2.1-gigawatt (!), 525-kilovolt transmission line to run underground along existing railroad from Mason City, Iowa, to the Chicago, Illinois, area. It aims to go into operation in 2024.
Direct Connect estimates that the SOO Green project will create 2,000 temporary construction jobs, unlock more than 4,000 jobs in renewable energy development, generate more than $2.7 billion in economic development in the two states, and yield more than $3.75 billion in ratepayer savings over 20 years.
What does this mean for EV drivers? Most current EV owners — early adopters — mention no emissions as one of the three reasons for buying electric vehicle technology. We’ll end on that, enjoy and have a great weekend.