April 5, 2022 |
The future of the American transportation system once included visions of flying cars. Expectations have been lowered. For the foreseeable future we’ll still be driving cars with petroleum-based rubber tires on the existing highway system but the vehicles will be electric. Luxury models, like the top-end Tesla S, approximate the speed and power of traditional muscle cars but with a hefty price tag around $100,000. Few will be able to afford it or the long-distance range of 400 miles the promotional materials boasts it will travel.
Most drivers will have to settle for less power and less range. Currently most electric cars promise a range of 300 miles on a full battery charge. One of the big obstacles to expanding the market for electric vehicles is the relatively few charging stations, compared to gas stations for traditional vehicles.
The Biden administration is throwing money at the problem, lots of money. The infrastructure bill signed into law last November includes $1 billion to build charging stations every 50 miles along “alternative fuel corridors” mapped out by Washington bureaucrats.
Nationwide, the alternative fuel corridors include segments of 134 interstates, along with 125 U.S. numbered highways/state roads covering 46 states and the District of Columbia.
In Wyoming, the entire lengths of Interstates 25, 80 and 90 in the state have been designated as “alternative fuel corridors.” Wyoming stands to collect $3.9 million this year, and about $5 million a year for the next five years to plan and facilitate a network of charging stations for electric vehicles.
It’s a new mission for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, one that comes with federal rules and regulations. WYDOT Director Luke Reiner says developing the alternative fuel corridor is in Wyoming’s best interest.
Pictured at top: Staff at an electric vehicle charging station at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Photo courtesy National Parks Service/Herbert.
Reiner said Wyoming has an economic interest in accommodating tourists who want to travel to famed destination spots like Yellowstone in electric vehicles. He emphasized that no state money would be used to develop the EV infrastructure, only federal dollars. Interstate travel will be the focus at first and then branch out from there.
The total mileage of Wyoming’s interstate system adds up to 1,468 miles. At 50 mile intervals, at least 29 charging stations will have to be built across Wyoming. Reiner said that WYDOT officials believe building out the EV charging infrastructure on the interstates will take two or three years.
The charging stations will be more powerful than ones EV owners use at home to trickle charge their vehicles overnight.
Jesse Kirchmeyer is WYDOT’s project manager for the program. Kirchmeyer said certain federal minimum requirements must be followed. For instance, the EV “fill-up” stations must include four charging ports, each with 150 kilowatts of power.
Kirchmeyer said the first set of guidelines for the charging stations was issued in February. An update is expected in May. Charging a long-distance EV whose batter is on “empty” will take longer than filling up a gas car, but Kirchmeyer didn’t think the charging centers in Wyoming will be become congested with lines of cars whose batteries are on “E.”
Viral videos from California that are now two or three years old document long lines of electric vehicles waiting to charge at Tesla stations. Kirchmeyer said WYDOT does not expect scenes like that in Wyoming.
As you can see, this is a big story. The effort to accommodate the national transition to electric vehicles encompasses cultural change, the use of taxpayer dollars, economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and perhaps even changes to the Wyoming landscape.
The story doesn’t even end with just electric vehicles. We’ll have a third installment of our look at the proposed alternative fuel corridors tomorrow as WYDOT prepares to host a meeting Friday in Rawlins to discuss the topic. That meeting is set for 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Rawlins Family Recreation Center.
Locate an EV charging station in Wyoming
Related: WYDOT to hold public meeting in Rawlins to discuss making I-80 ‘alternative fuel corridor’
Related: WYDOT announces strategy for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding
