U.S. Proposes Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Every 50 Miles on Federal Highways

[Tsing]

The Biden-⁠Harris Administration has proposed new standards for a national electric vehicle charging network, part of its ongoing campaign to transition more Americans to EVs and making them more convenient, reliable, and affordable.

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[Grimlakin]

Geezus... are we putting nuclear power plants every 500 miles as well?

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

I'm for some kind of regulation to have more out there but this seems a bit much. We never had such laws to prevent idiots from not having enough gas to make it to their destination(at least none I'm aware of). I'm thinking maybe every two hundred miles since most can make it that far on a full charge. Fifty seems like a little too much handholding for a lack of common sense.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm for some kind of regulation to have more out there but this seems a bit much. We never had such laws to prevent idiots from not having enough gas to make it to their destination(at least none I'm aware of). I'm thinking maybe every two hundred miles since most can make it that far on a full charge. Fifty seems like a little too much handholding for a lack of common sense.

That's ~about~ what you see gas stations, if you are out west in some of those long lonely stretches of road. Not sure that it took a federal regulation to get it there - but just typical economic forces it seems to have more or less worked itself out that way. Of course, as traffic density goes up, so does refueling density. I just can't recall many stretches of federal road where you go more than about 50 miles without seeing a gas station -- I'm sure they may exist, just not where I've been.

Gotta remember, not everyone gets on the highway with full charge, different vehicles are gonna have different capacities, and whatever load you have in/on the vehicle will impact that greatly as well. Gas stations seem to have done well with a density no less than about 1 every 50 miles.

 

[Ditchinit]

... I just can't recall many stretches of federal road where you go more than about 50 miles without seeing a gas station -- I'm sure they may exist, just not where I've been.

There are plenty of stretches greater than 50 miles without a gas station in Alaska. It's a popular bucket-list destination.

 

[Brian_B]

There are plenty of stretches greater than 50 miles without a gas station in Alaska. It's a popular bucket-list destination.

I thought to myself, as I was typing -- well, probably Alaska, but wtf cares about that -- every trip in AK is back country, or plane/ferry.

I guess you are the one guy that cares about the Interstate system in Alaska. All four of them.

 

[Ditchinit]

I thought to myself, as I was typing -- well, probably Alaska, but wtf cares about that -- every trip in AK is back country, or plane/ferry.

I guess you are the one guy that cares about the Interstate system in Alaska. All four of them.

No ... there are at least two of us.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

I admit that I've never tried tracking the distances but here in New Mexico, we have some pretty big swaths of land outside the few metros of the state. I'm sure there's got to be spots that go well beyond 50 miles w/o a gas station.

 

[Zarathustra]

This would certainly aid in the adoption of electric vehicles, but they had better also be planning for what it takes to feed these charging stations, both generation and distribution wise...

 

[Zarathustra]

I'm for some kind of regulation to have more out there but this seems a bit much. We never had such laws to prevent idiots from not having enough gas to make it to their destination(at least none I'm aware of). I'm thinking maybe every two hundred miles since most can make it that far on a full charge. Fifty seems like a little too much handholding for a lack of common sense.

I think there is a little of a catch 22 here. Many people won't feel comfortable buying electric cars until they can be assured fast charging stations at close intervals, and private industry won't start building too many fast charging stations unless there are customers to use them so they can make a profit.

I'm guessing there is some hope that this will kickstart the whole process. Who knows, maybe it will?

 

[Grimlakin]

I think there is a little of a catch 22 here. Many people won't feel comfortable buying electric cars until they can be assured fast charging stations at close intervals, and private industry won't start building too many fast charging stations unless there are customers to use them so they can make a profit.

I'm guessing there is some hope that this will kickstart the whole process. Who knows, maybe it will?

You know this WILL help. I don't want an EV in case I want to drive across the country for some trip or another. Yet... I also don't want an EV where I'll have to replace the battery due to obsolescence after 4 years.

 

[SmokeRngs]

This would certainly aid in the adoption of electric vehicles, but they had better also be planning for what it takes to feed these charging stations, both generation and distribution wise...

That's not going to happen. Absolutely nothing the government proposes or mandates has any long term thinking or planning behind it. This is at most a pork barrel project for their friends/family/colleagues pretending to be a feel good measure.

 

[Riccochet]

I wonder which politicians bought in to the companies that would be building out the charging infrastructure.

Where there is money to spent, there is money to be made.

 

[Grimlakin]

I wonder which politicians bought in to the companies that would be building out the charging infrastructure.

Where there is money to spent, there is money to be made.

Maybe I need to move some investments around.

What this WILL do is cause a HUGE uptick in the price of copper. Gotta move all that power around somehow.