> I still can't fathom how electric cars are going to make more than a dent in NYC where most cars are stored streetside
Consumer/taxpayer demand for a solution, like most problems in a capitalist democracy.
I imagine streets where every nth parking spot has something that looks like a beefy parking meter, but will allow thick-ish extension cords to run from a car to it. Turn it on with an RFID tied to which house you belong to on the street (ensures only locals can use it, charges the electrical costs to the right house).
It's technically doable with the technology in our hands today and not very complicated to install. Give in 10 more years, there'll be even smarter ideas.
In most urban areas hooking up new electrical service does not usually mean breaking concrete. I think you'll be amazed how quickly cities deploy charging infrastructure once they realize the premium they can charge for the same parking spot.
What's the "premium" that a typical consumer would pay?
Take 15K miles/year at 4 miles/kWh or 30 miles/gal. 3750kWh or 500 gallons of gas.
At MA electric rates, the electricity is $750, the gas is about $1500. It's unlikely that an electric car consumer would pay more than the $750 delta for the electric charging spot, and would likely be willing to pay only a smaller figure because they are unlikely to do all of their charging in that space or network of spaces.
That premium/willingness-to-pay won't even cover the all-in cost of installing a single EVSE in the first year.
Any infrastructure spend that paid for itself in a year would be like winning the lottery. Infrastructure investment is evaluated on a timescale more akin with geology.
Agreed with the first sentence, but I still don't think the math pencils out. I'm not going to pay City X $750 (on top of the existing parking charge and electricity) so I can use their charging network. The figure I'm willing to pay specifically for the EVSE access is probably more like $100.
Barring significant over-subscription, that's still a ~10 year payback. With massive over-subscription, it doesn't become a reliable charging source. (My prior post, which I'll leave unedited, was unclear/insufficient in stating it was longer than a one-year payback.)
Consumer/taxpayer demand for a solution, like most problems in a capitalist democracy.
I imagine streets where every nth parking spot has something that looks like a beefy parking meter, but will allow thick-ish extension cords to run from a car to it. Turn it on with an RFID tied to which house you belong to on the street (ensures only locals can use it, charges the electrical costs to the right house).
It's technically doable with the technology in our hands today and not very complicated to install. Give in 10 more years, there'll be even smarter ideas.