There has been much in the news about mandated sales of electric vehicles (TVs). As an owner of a 2020 Nissan Leaf I have found it to be the best car I have ever owned. No stops at the gas station, no oil changes. But Maine via the Board of Environmental Protection, is putting the cart before the horse with the “Advanced Clean Cars II” plan because the infrastructure does not exist that will allow EVs to be charged.
The first piece of infrastructure is for every house and home to be able to plug in an EV. There are different plug-in styles: the J1776; the Tesla; and the CSS. These are fine by themselves but it is important to install a weather-proof outlet that can accommodate the portable chargers that come with each EV. For example, my Leaf charger fits a 3.6 kW outlet 20-amp, 250-volt receptacle (good for welding, too).
Second, more charging stations are needed that accommodate the differing plug types. Adaptors are available. But every school, library, town and state office building will need a bank of them, as will public parking lots, restaurants, hotels, and shopping areas. While none need provide free electricity they should all be able to take a credit card and accurately report cost and usage in an easy-to-read format with receipt right there at the charge point.
We must be ready with these first steps before mandating purchases of EVs.
Robert Sezak
Fairfield
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