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More consumers getting a charge out of electric vehicles

By Rick Shrum newsroom@heraldstandard.Com 8 min read
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Katherine Mansfield

Ed Lyness, 90, of Allegheny County, spends his afternoon reading while his Tesla charges at Giant Eagle’s charging station in North Strabane Township. Lyness said it usually takes an hour for his car to reach a full charge.

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Katherine Mansfield

At a glance, it appears Ed Lyness, 90, is filling his tank, but upon closer inspection it’s clear he’s actually charging it. The super charge for electric vehicles at Giant Eagle in North Strabane Township looks similar, albeit more futuristic, than traditional gas pumps.

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Katherine Mansfield

Ed Lyness charges his Tesla at the charging station at Giant Eagle in South Strabane Township.

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Katherine Mansfield

A row of electric charging stations is located beside the GetGo, next to Giant Eagle, in South Strabane Township.

Parker Burroughs wasn’t plugged into the electric vehicle movement, but he had a growing appreciation for electricity. So when he needed a set of wheels, he realized it didn’t have to be like every other vehicle he had driven – gasoline-powered models.

“Three years ago, I had solar panels installed on my house and began producing some of our electricity,” said Burroughs, a South Franklin Township resident. “So I thought it only made sense that since I was making ‘hotricity,’ I should have an electric car.”

Burroughs, retired editor of the Observer-Reporter, scouted around and ended up leasing a Volkswagen ID.4 from a dealership in Peters Township. He drove it home on July 1 and is electrified by his decision.

“I’m tickled to death by this electric vehicle,” he said. “It has great pickup, and it’s smooth and quiet. I’m shocked that more people don’t have electric cars around here.”

That will likely change, just as it is occurring across the nation and abroad.

EVs, as they are known informally, are trending upward. There are more than 5.6 million electric vehicles worldwide, according to a policyadvice.net posting in August. That is a 64% increase from 3.4 million in 2018.

And their popularity continues to grow for reasons that include being economical long term; having a reputation for smooth performance; and being eco-friendly at a time of climate crisis.

These vehicles have an electric motor, which does not emit exhaust from a tailpipe, sending carbon dioxide, ozone and particulates into the air. Vehicles with an internal combustion engine, which burns gasoline and diesel, do release those toxic elements.

Automakers have responded to burgeoning demand by ramping up production of models in various sizes and shapes. Tesla remains the dominant force in the EV market, but General Motors, Ford Motor, Volkswagen and other companies are investing heavily in it. GM, according to a recent report in the New York Times, is doing so with a goal of doubling its revenue to about $280 billion by 2030.

Dave Coffman, co-dealer principal at Ford of Uniontown, said his company is projecting that by 2030, the electric vehicles market will be 50% of its business.

“Interest has far exceeded what I anticipated,” Coffman said. “This is definitely a big trend in the auto industry.”

Washington County has certainly entered the EV fray. East Washington council voted in June to purchase a Tesla for the borough police department. The car has not been delivered yet, but Mayor Demond Nixon said recently that it will arrive soon, after it is “outfitted” with equipment at a facility in Indiana.

Six EV charging stations were installed on the Washington & Jefferson College campus in February, thanks largely to a $25,000 grant from West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund. There are two stations at each of three locations; all are available to students, staff and the general public.

“People are charging there most days,” said Corey Young, director of W&J’s Center for Energy Policy and Management. He added that “a couple of professors plug in there.”

There also are charging stations at Giant Eagle and Tanger Outlets, both in South Strabane Township, but otherwise are not commonplace in the region. Their numbers are increasing, however.

Many owners charge their vehicles at home, and Burroughs is among them. He said he had to install a 220-volt outlet in his garage for a Level 2 charger, the most common charger in service. He said he charges once a week for four hours, resulting in a 20% to 80% charge. He said he drives locally for the most part, and an 80% charge gives him a range of about 250 miles.

One criticism of EVs is that they are not ideal for lengthy trips. A long-distance commuter would be wise to scout out charging stations ahead of time, because at some point he or she will have to pull into a station and recharge.

“I would purchase an electric vehicle tomorrow, except that my family lives in Maryland and that is a little beyond the charge limit,” Young said. “I don’t know if I want to delay an hour to get it charged – if I can find a station. That’s the nut that has to be cracked.”

Although stations are not commonplace, they are becoming more prevalent. The state Department of Environmental Protection announced in June that it had added at least 500 new electric vehicle plugs statewide. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission recently added them at five plazas, but only two are in Southwestern Pennsylvania: New Stanton and Oakmont Plum.

There are an estimated 43,000 public charging stations nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A little more than 900 are in Pennsylvania. California is the leader among states, with 5,000-plus – approximately five times the runner-up, New York.

The initial financial outlay for electric vehicles seems formidable, yet federal, state and utility programs help to defray the cost.

“They really aren’t expensive,” Burroughs said. He pointed out that his VW cost $41,000, but he got a $7,500 tax credit. “When you take that into consideration, (the cost) is similar to the average SUV these days. I’m leasing for $450 a month.”

Employing his math skills, Burroughs has determined that his EV is highly cost-effective compared with gas-powered cars. “If a car or truck gets 20 miles to the gallon, the owner is paying 18 to 20 cents a mile. I’m using about $12 in electricity per month, for 650 miles. That works out to about 2 cents per mile.”

As with just about everything during the pandemic, the EV market is dealing with supply chain shortages. These vehicles aren’t plentiful in the region, said Gary Flannery, owner of Washington Auto Mall in South Strabane. “A lot of manufacturers are not necessarily bringing electric vehicles here.”

Jeff Paletta, who works in the showroom, said Ford of Uniontown “has a limited number of EVs,” including a couple of Mach E models that are due to arrive. He said supply issues “are starting to lighten up a bit” for all vehicles. “We have a 20- to 25-day supply. We usually have enough for 120 days.”

Paletta, whose family operated an auto dealership in Fredericktown for many years, said the major problem within this chain is a severe lack of semiconductors, which began a year or so ago “when COVID slowed production down.”

Global warming is another hot topic, of course – literally and figuratively. Carbon dioxide, the most common and dangerous greenhouse gas, is present at its highest levels recorded. CO2 is a major contributor to this phenomenon, which is resulting in temperature extremes, heavy precipitation and droughts.

The burning of fossil fuels – by humans – is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

President Joe Biden’s spending proposal, amounting to trillions of dollars, devotes a formidable amount to climate. His policy is hitting a snag in Congress, though, and within his own party. Democratic senators Joe Manchin III (West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) have been opposed to the overall cost. Climate spending could be reduced.

Dr. Varun Rai is working to help stave off climate change. He is an expert on energy transition and adoption of sustainable energy technologies, and was the featured speaker last month at a virtual webinar presented by W&J’s Center for Energy Policy and Management.

“We have to experience a decline in CO2 emissions beginning right now,” said Rai, a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He directs the school’s Energy Systems Transformation Research Group and its Energy Institute.

During a nearly hour-long presentation, he said it is imperative climate change be reversed over the next decade. He advocates carbon capture and storage, and to strive to reach net zero emissions.

One of his recommendations is to “electrify energy services in transportation, buildings and industry” through 2030. That includes increasing the number of EVs to 20% of total vehicles on the road, and deploying heat pumps in 25% of residences.

Young said a jump in electric vehicle usage raises an interesting quandary across Pennsylvania. “An increase in electric vehicles takes away from gas-tax revenue. In the long term, we’d be doing a lot better with emissions, but how do we pay for roads and bridges?

“In a state like Pennsylvania, with a fairly hefty tax on gas, that would leave a tremendous gap.”

There is still a big gap between the use of gas-powered vehicles and EVs, to be sure, but the demand for the latter is on the ascent. With the cost of petrol continuing to soar, Parker Burroughs anticipates more of a move toward electric.

“I think people will be getting tired of buying gasoline.”

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