||| FROM BRUCE BENTON |||
Shortly after my wife and I moved permanently to Orcas Island in June 2020, I launched an EV charger project for the Island. It was clear through
discussions with people concerned about the local environment as well as OPALCO that vehicle emissions were by far the largest source of pollution on the Island. They posed a very real threat to the pristine, but fragile, air and ocean environments surrounding Orcas and neighboring San Juan Islands. Perhaps the biggest concern is ocean acidification caused by carbon emissions that are threatening the shellfish and oyster industries in Puget Sound – important sources of employment in Washington State. Acidification is also leading to a declining salmon population that in turn threatens orcas. As I read through the scientific literature, I discovered that the area covering Puget Sound north through the Gulf of Alaska is one of the five worst areas in the world for this problem.
The only practical sustainable solution to OI’s pollution problem from vehicle emissions is for Island residents and tourists from the mainland to
transition from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) as soon as possible. There are strong economic incentives
for this transition. Given the sizable differential between the cost of gasoline and the cost of electricity on OI, EV owners can save as much as $2000 annually on fuel costs alone. Savings on maintenance costs can add up to another $1000 because EVs do not require the routine maintenance of ICEs, including oil changes, spark plug replacements, radiator flushing, etc. In addition, there are currently seven publicly-available level II chargers around OI. Hence, EV owners can charge for free while shopping at Island Market or while picking people up at the ferry terminal.
However, the current seven publicly-available EV chargers are inadequate to induce local residents to transition to EVs. The Island needs at least
three times that number to accelerate the transition to EVs and address the imminent pollution threat. At least 21 publicly-available chargers are
needed on OI to reach a tipping point placing the Island on a faster track to zero emissions through EV adoption. Even the two rental car companies on OI have said they will seriously consider transitioning to EVs if the EV infrastructure can be built out to this extent.
The ongoing EV charger project consists of working with local businesses to help them install chargers. I’m finding there is considerable interest
among local businesses because available EV chargers can be a boon to business. According to studies, the availability of chargers increases the
dwell time of shoppers by 327%, who can charge their EVs while shopping, resulting in greater purchases. EV chargers are an important attraction to stay in hotels that enable EV drivers to charge overnight. One study by RetailCo, a company in North America specializing in retail goods, showed that by spending $430 on electricity for clients who were charging, local businesses increased sales by $56,000 – a gain of $130 per dollar invested in EV charging.
So far, seven businesses on OI have committed to installing 10 EV chargers. One of these is Ray’s Pharmacy which has agreed to serve as
the home base for the nonprofit free-ride service, IslandRides. IslandRides, through a grant from the Orcas Community Foundation, recently purchased a Blue Nissan Leaf and began this past week to offer emissions-free rides around OI at no cost for people who cannot drive or don’t have access to a vehicle. The EV was purchased through Island E Cars under the OPALCO Happy Deal which provides a free EV charger and up to $2500 to install it with the purchase of a used EV. We need to get the charger installed at Ray’s as soon as possible to enable the ride service to scale up, including delivering groceries for the Food Bank. The major constraint is finding an electrician to complete the installation. All of the local electricians are heavily booked and it’s been difficult to find someone who will commit to installing EV chargers – despite the urgent need.
There are probably other OI businesses that are interested in installing EVchargers and need assistance in making it happen. Hopefully, they, as well as electricians who see the societal value in this work, will contact me at brucebenton40@gmail.com to include them in the EV charger project. I would also like to see EV chargers installed at Moran and Obstruction Pass State Parks, as well as at the Library, Orcas Center, the Island Primary Care Clinic, and Buck Park. If this EV charger project turns out to be successful on OI, I would like to undertake a similar project for San Juan Island, working with friends and colleagues who are interested in expanding the EV infrastructure there.
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As an EV driver on Orcas since 2013, I can say “hear hear” to these comments. And I’ll add one more. It is important to realize that 99% of the charging time for our EVs has occurred in our garage, with the car plugged into a 110 volt outlet. This so-called Level 1, or trickle, charging, often overnight, is about all that is needed given the nature of island driving. So if you are considering an EV, don’t let the current dearth of charging stations dissuade you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
In my opinion the reason more people on Orcas do not have an electric car, is because they want to take that same car to Seattle and not have to plug in 3 times to charge to get there and back. We live past Olga, and for the past 6 years have been driving a Nissan Leaf. We charge it AT HOME each night and can usually come to Eastsound and back 3 times in a day on one charge. I imagine anyone else on Orcas would do the same. The only times we have charged at a public station is if we forgot to charge it at night. We paid for the car with the money we saved by not buying gas (and yes we included the cost to charge the car).
We also have a gas car for going to Costco, Seattle, off-island etc. I agree that it would be better to switch all the rental cars on the island to electric, so what is the incentive for that to happen? Get VRBO’s to install chargers? You can charge using a normal 110v outlet, it just takes overnight…which should be fine for out of town people.
If you want to have a single car on Orcas that is able to go to Seattle, etc….the only option in my mind right now is a Tesla Model 3, or Y given the Tesla charging network. Maybe OPALCO can get Tesla to build a supercharger station on Orcas!
Having more charging stations available on the island would be a nice convenience, but nobody should think they are necessary before it would be practical to have an EV. Nearly all of my island driving for the past 7 years has been in my EV (2014 Leaf), and that only required overnight charging from a standard 110V outlet.. I am 14 miles from Eastsound, and 23 miles from the ferry landing, and can make two round trips a day to just about anyplace on the island with that overnight charge. The only time I ever need a special “charging station” is when I am off island. Go ahead and get that EV now, it does save a ton on gas.
What about adding a charger at some points farther away from Eastsound, as most people don’t live in Eastsound? Deer Harbor, West sound, Orcas ferry landing, Island Hardware (??), Doe Bay, Olga for example, unless of course, these areas already have committed business to sponsor the charging station.
It would be great to put a charging station at the gym.
I recently took a roundtrip from Toronto to Ottawa in my son’s Tesla Y (I think that’s right – whatever model they bought was recently discontinued). The car is always charged at home but for this trip the onboard app showed us the convenient Tesla stations along the way. Each one had a future-anticipating 15-20 chargers and each station was also convenient to say, a Tim Horton’s or other market. What really made it workable for the little family was my infant granddaughter who liked being fed and changed at each stop. Timing is everything!
Adding public charging stations would be yet another incentive for tourists and outsiders to come to Orcas. Is that what you want?
Well, Neil, I live on Orcas year-round, and drive an EV. I would enjoy more charging station availability here. I somehow doubt that charging stations are a big part of anyone’s decision to come visit or vacation on Orcas. And, if they do visit, I’d rather have them not belch out exhaust fumes as they drive about.
Brian, I hear you, but am fascinated, I don’t know what car you own, but most EV’s get at least 25 miles/charge so for local driving on Orcas charging downtown while shopping shouldn’t be necessary for most people and you could just do it at home. And if you own a Tesla, Leaf, Bolt, Volt, etc. you would have a range of 100-300 miles (a lot of trips around the Horseshoe Highway! ) If there is a charge for using the outlet in town it would be cheaper to charge it at home. If it’s “free” that really means taxpayers are paying for your driving and I know Orcas residents would never want to be unfair. Already, EV’s don’t pay for roads because road taxes are incorporated in gasoline taxes and I’m not aware of any state that has figured out to tax EV’s for roads, so EV drivers are getting a free ride from others who are paying gas taxes. You last line sparks another of my out of the box ideas. Why not charge a different fee on the ferry for gas cars vs. EV’s? And by the way, my wife and I drive a plug in EV….
Neil – I think you need to visit here to see the terrain. My EV gets ~100 miles, on flat highway driving. I live halfway up the side of Mt. Constitution. I can blow through much my “100 mile” charge just driving to the other side of the island for an emergency call, and then heading back home. So please, come visit with a short range EV, and I’ll point you at a route or two here that will leave you out of juice before you can return home.
You might also look into who provides the EV chargers here now. OPALCO, our rural electrical cooperative. Which I am a member of. You’d know that too, I think, if you lived here, or visited more. There are even signs explaining the deal…
As to EVs here and road taxes – well, it costs me more to register my microscopic Fiat 500e EV than to register my big diesel truck. Because WA State imposes a special fee on EVs to pay for the roads…. (Something you seem unaware of…) My EV never leaves the island, and drives only on private and county roads. Now, if you looked into who pays for the roads on Orcas, and where the gasoline taxes go, and where the EV surcharge goes, and how much money comes back to the County…
Well, you’d know these things, and more, if you lived here, methinks.