{"id":461,"date":"2024-03-06T23:10:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T07:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/?p=461"},"modified":"2024-12-20T01:01:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T09:01:39","slug":"data-story-ca-ev-chargers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/clips\/writing\/data-story-ca-ev-chargers\/","title":{"rendered":"CA lags over 20 years behind 2018 EV charging station goal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For my JOUR 305 Data Reporting & Visualization class, I was paired with a business major to scour raw government data records, generate visuals for it using Microsoft Excel and write a story on it. After looking through spreadsheets of government data, we found data on charging stations in California. My partner developed the data visualization in the story, while I interviewed sources and wrote the article. Shortly after we submitted this assignment, the <\/em>Los Angeles Times released a story in its print edition with the same thesis, supported by the same data along with with a quote from the California Air Resources Board as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When David Mobley drives his family to Northern California, he prefers to do it all in one day. But as of now, he only does it in a gas car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst, I can\u2019t fit them all in a normal EV, [and] second, even if I could, I couldn\u2019t recharge fast enough to make this trip a reality,\u201d said Mobley, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UCI who lives in Irvine with his family of eight, 600 to 650 miles away from his extended family. \u201cIt\u2019d turn into a multiple-day trip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he owns a Nissan Leaf, he drives their family\u2019s gas-powered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter to NorCal about once or twice a year. But even if California succeeds in its goal<\/a> to sell only zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) on its market by 2035 and supply enough energy for a projected number of 5 million ZEVs and electric vehicles (EVs), Mobley says gas is still the most practical solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, California initially anticipated<\/a> reaching 250,000 charging stations by next year, to solve Mobley\u2019s practicality problem, and dedicated $2.9 billion to build 80,000 charging stations, according<\/a> to the California Energy Commission (CEC). But a data analysis of California’s 2020-2023 public charging network from the CEC<\/a> reveals that California is over 20 years behind on its goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the reasons lies in the slow rate of infrastructure growth. Using these records and its current rate of growth, California is predicted to reach 250,000 stations by 2040 at best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The CEC\u2019s data only records public stations and certain shared private stations. This excludes what California Air Resources Board Communications Specialist John Swanton identifies as proprietary and private charging infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn example of proprietary infrastructure is the Tesla network, where it is only open to certain manufacturers\u2019 vehicles, and private infrastructure is typically residential or workplace charging only available to residents, employee\u2019s, or customers,\u201d Swanton said. \u201cPrivate infrastructure is not required to participate in any data sharing, or counts of installed chargers, and much of the data for proprietary networks is considered confidential unless they start accepting public funds for open access to all vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this caveat, a Stanford research article<\/a> published in February still recognized a delay, and determined over four complex reasons for it, including long waits for permits to begin building, limits on grid capacity and staff capacity and uncertainties regarding access to funding. The most effective solution to accelerating California\u2019s installation progress, it said, was expanding the state\u2019s grid capacity to support more infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTimeframes can be on the order of months or even multiple years for large installations,\u201d according to the article, which cited a June 2023 Inside Climate News article<\/a>. \u201cReasons for these delays vary, ranging from the complex regulatory process of laying new transmission lines to utility service department delays and shortage of transformers needed for site upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar complexities in the regulation and permitting processes have prompted legislative action aimed at accelerating the task, but the Stanford article noted a lack of evidence proving the effectiveness of these solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking for the CARB, Swanton said the board and its partners are working to further streamline the process in tandem with such legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of the bills cited in the Stanford study have made critical contributions to reducing barriers to construction of new infrastructure and CARB staff provide technical support for additional legislation when requested by the legislature,\u201d said Swanton, who also addressed lobbyists attempting to slow growth even more. \u201cAs new laws are enacted that streamline and standardize these processes, and demand for infrastructure increases along with the growth of the ZEV popularity, the ability of any one stakeholder to significantly impede projects is reduced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all hope is lost<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although California may not meet its charging infrastructure goal according to the current numbers, its plan may prove feasible in regards to its goal of 5 million ZEVs on the road by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A data analysis from the CEC\u2019s record of ZEVs in California from 2022-2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic, predicts California reaching this goal by 2032-2033, ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall the sales of ZEV\u2019s is already trending [on an increase], not only in the California market, but similar markets worldwide,\u201d Swanton said. \u201cWhile there has been a recent dip in ZEV sales, in-line with an overall slump in new vehicle sales, the long-term trend is towards continued growth and generally ahead of projections when these standards were adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston Chronicle<\/em> energy reporter Claire Hao acknowledged the increase, but noted practical factors similar to Mobley\u2019s circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn general, the first buyers on EVs have all finished buying, those who were really interested in having one specifically or tech enthusiasts who like having the latest gadgets,\u201d said Hao, who previously wrote at the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> as an environment reporter. \u201cAs the industry tries to win over the rest of the market, one of the biggest barriers, if not the biggest, is lack of charging. And thus, range anxiety, which is people\u2019s fears that their EV will run out of charge in the middle of their drive when they\u2019re far from a charging station. And that they can\u2019t drive long distances with an EV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least from the data alone, California still has hope of selling, if not supplying energy for, 5 million ZEVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with almost 10 years left until 2035, California\u2019s goal still seems too lofty for Mobley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think, and still think, this is ridiculous virtue signaling,\u201d said Mobley, who owns a gas-powered car and a small electric vehicle. \u201cIt\u2019s great to have optimistic goals about transitions to alternative energy sources, etc., but one can’t mandate science and infrastructure progress nor changes to human behavior, many of which would need to come together to make this actually work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For my JOUR 305 Data Reporting & Visualization class, I was paired with a business major to scour raw government data records, generate visuals for it using Microsoft Excel and write a story on it. After looking through spreadsheets of government data, we found data on charging stations in California. My partner developed the data […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":463,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions\/463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djam.biola.edu\/hopel3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}