Two new Electric Vehicle Initiatives in Bayfield and Ashland Counties.
1) Bayfield County has submitted a grant application for electric vehicle charging infrastructure to be located throughout the county.  Read more about Bayfield County's EV Infrastructure plans here.

2) Ashland County, with help from the UW- Extension and CBR, has initiated an Electric Vehicle Planning Workgroup to help facilitate its transition to electric vehicles.  The group is meeting each month for 10 months and hopes to be prepared for future funding in the spring of 2024.  Read more about Ashland County's Workgroup here.



Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Wisconsin

Both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in Nov. 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August 2022 have funds allocated for EV charging stations.  On September 14, 2022 the Biden-Harris Administration announced approval of the first 35 states’ National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plans.  Wisconsin’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan (WEVI) was one of the state plans approved.  This will unlock more than $900 million for FY 22 and FY23.  Wisconsin is allocated $11.6M in FY22, and $16.7M in each year FY23 thru FY26 with an estimated total of $78.6M.

In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes an additional $3B for EV charging for economically disadvantaged communities and an additional $2.5B Discretionary Grant Program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure.  Rural communities are included in this sector.  On March 14th, 2023 the U.S Department of Transportation release a Notice of Funding Opportunity titled Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Opportunity (DOE CFI).  This NOFO releases the first $700M and is split into two grant categories: Community Program and Corridor Program.  The Community Program allows for charging infrastructure outside the designated WI corridors shown below.
​
Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan estimates funds will be available starting in fall 2023 and will be allocated by the WisDOT based on program selection criteria.  State Highway 2 is listed as an “Approved 2022 Alternative Fuel Corridor” and is important because it serves a rural community.  The figure below is from the WEVI Plan:

Deployment of infrastructure funds will be through a competitive process and will seek applications from eligible site hosts to install, own, and operate NEVI-compliant charging stations.  Non-federal matching funds of at least 20% will be required.  Funds will be made available to local governments as well as private entities.  Criteria for siting charging stations are included in the WEVI plan and include things like availability of 3-phase power and that multiple amenities are available.

In March 2022, WisDOT launched its Electrification of Wisconsin website to keep the public updated and informed as this is an evolving process.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is also directly involved with EV charging through regulatory policies with the state’s investment owned utilities.  Electric rates and rate design can significantly affect EV deployment.  The WI state legislature is also involved in trying to resolve the $10M Volkswagen settle funds earmarked for EV charging, as well as redefining antiquated utility laws in this new age of electrification.
​
The IRS Section 30C 30% tax credit is back starting in 2023 and applies to residential and commercial EV chargers.  It was extended by the Inflation Reduction Act.  The 30% credit does come with some conditions like prevailing wages and apprenticeship requirements. 

In addition, a business can depreciate the equipment in one year using Section 179.  Check with your CPA for details.

CBR has developed a EV Charging Rate Analysis Tool using Xcel Energy's two most common commercial rate tariffs, General Service TOD (Cg-7) and Large General Service TOD (Cg-9).  The purpose of the Tool is to determine the electric bill charged a charging station site owner so they can adequately price rates charged to the EV customer to cover expenses.  The Tool allows the user to input EVSE capacity, number of chargers, and estimated hours of use per month, then it automatically populates the electric bill and break-even rate per kWh.  The Tool can be seen here.  The Tool also takes into consideration Xcel's "100 hour" rule or demand limiter as written in their Cg-7 and Cg-9 tariffs.  The demand limiter is helpful to reduce electric bills for low volume charging.  The Tool also shows what the effect would be if this rule was adjusted to a 150 hour rule.  The 100 hour rule simply divides monthly kWh usage by 100, and that becomes the maximum demand in kW that is charged for the month.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Basics & Economics
​
EV Basics
  • EVSE – Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment: the technical name of an EV charging station
  • All EVs use an EVSE between the vehicle and the power supply. They communicate via a “handshake”
  • There are three levels of EVSE (chargers)
    • Level 1 = 120v outlet (normal household outlet, Alternating Current - AC)
    • Level 2 = 240v single phase (like and electric dryer, electric oven or welder, AC)
    • Level 3 = 480v three phase (commercial application, converts AC to Direct Current - DC)
  • There are several sizes and capabilities of level 2 and level 3 chargers
    • Level 2 chargers vary from 16amps to 80amps and vary in “intelligence”
      • Level 2 equipment costs vary from $320 to $3000, plus installation
    • Level 3 chargers vary from 50kW to 350kW and also vary with intelligent options
      • Level 3 equipment costs vary from $50K to 100’s of thousands, plus installation
  • Many household and commercial buildings will need electric service upgrades to accommodate the larger level 2 chargers.
  • Level 3 chargers are tied directly to the utility via a dedicated service and meter but only where 3-phase 480v service is available

EV Quantities
  • It takes 26kWh to drive a Tesla 100 miles (varies by manufacturer), or about 4 miles per kWh
  • A Ford F150 Lightning EV gets 2 miles per kWh
  • An average WI household might use about 24kWh/day
  • An average driver will need an additional 10kWh/day to charge a single sedan (drives 15,000/year)
EV Equivalencies
  • One gallon of gasoline contains the same energy as 33.7kWh
  • An Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is 20% efficient in converting gasoline into energy
  • An Electric Vehicle is 60% efficient
Emissions
  • Using EPA emissions data, emissions from electric vehicles using average utility electricity are 63% lower than an ICE vehicle. 
A Few Conclusions
  • Using 2022 gasoline and residential electricity prices, it is 2 ½ times cheaper to charge a car with utility electricity than gasoline.  Of course, it is a lot cheaper than that if you make your own electricity with solar PV.
  • Using 2022 residential electricity prices, for every 100 miles driven, you would save $8.83 in energy cost with an electric vehicle vs. an ICE vehicle, or save about $1325/year if you drive 15,000/year
  • For a commercial customer using Xcel Energy’s off-peak electricity (9pm to 9am at 5.6 cents per kWh) it is 88% cheaper to use electricity than to buy gasoline at $3.60/gallon (average 2022 price)
  • As an example, Bayfield County could save $110,500 annually by converting its county fleet fueled with gasoline to EVs. 
Older Posts:

High speed EV Charger opens in Washburn
by Roger Aiken

Bay Area Rapid Transit has provided a new level three charger (50KW or greater charge Capacity) in Washburn, near the Bayfield Courthouse, just off Washington Ave and East 6th street.

This is a significant event for the area and will allow visitors and residents traveling to distant areas to charge quickly at a good price.    Level 2 charges add about 30 miles an hour to the vehicle. Level three charges can add more than 100 miles in the same time span, depending on the vehicle and state of charge.

The new Level three charger joins L3 chargers in  Duluth, Spooner, Trego, and Clam Lake to make traveling to our area and return much more convenient.

 The BART has an electric bus on order and will be using the station for a limited time per day. It will be available to the public twenty-four hours a day when not in use. It provides the two plug types, CHAdeMO and CCS.  Other level two charges are available in Bayfield and Washburn at various hotels and (summer) campgrounds.

The charger is on the EVGateway Network, which has a downloadable app to setup an account, or the charger will take a credit card or RFID card for account holders. The electric busses are part of a Statewide group purchase and so this network should grow as rural transit authorities receive the electric busses. 



Picture
Don and his Ford Focus EV