Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
03/09/2023 11:00 AM House ENERGY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ENERGY
March 9, 2023
11:00 a.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative George Rauscher, Chair
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Stanley Wright
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Calvin Schrage
Representative Ashley Carrick
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Josiah Patkotak
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
SARA HALL, Co-founder
ReCharge Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint titled "Electric Vehicles
in Alaska" during the presentation "Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure."
KRIS HALL, Co-founder
ReCharge Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the presentation
"Electric Vehicle Infrastructure."
ACTION NARRATIVE
11:00:40 AM
CHAIR GEORGE RAUSCHER called the House Special Committee on
Energy meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Representatives Carrick,
Wright, and Rauscher were present at the call to order.
Representatives Prax, McKay, and Schrage arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
^PRESENTATION: ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE
PRESENTATION: ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE
11:01:58 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation titled: "Electric Vehicle Infrastructure."
11:02:26 AM
SARA HALL, Co-founder, ReCharge Alaska, gave a PowerPoint titled
"Electric Vehicles in Alaska" [hard copy included in committee
packet]. She began on slides 2 and 3 and stated that the goal
of ReCharge Alaska is to make driving electric vehicles more
accessible in Alaska. She said that 90 percent of electric
vehicle charging happens at home. Electric vehicles usually do
not need to be charged on a daily basis. She showed a chart
with the different types of electric vehicle chargers.
11:06:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked whether a charging station would
have all four types of chargers available.
MS. HALL answered that the J1772 would not be located on any
fast charging stations due to it being a slow charger. The
CHAdeMO and CCS Type 1 chargers are available on ReCharge Alaska
machines, while an adapter is available for Tesla electric
vehicles. She added that only CCS is being required due to
CHAdeMO being phased out.
11:09:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked what the cost is for using ReCharge
Alaska charging stations.
MS. HALL answered that some localities require costs to be per
minute rather than per kilowatt (kWh), causing discrepancy in
prices. She said that ReCharge Alaska charges 60 cents per kWh
in locations where they charge by kWh. In response to a follow-
up question, she stated that charging at home is cheaper.
11:11:39 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked where Ms. Hall lives for the purpose of
comparing electric rates.
MS. HALL answered south Anchorage. In response to a follow-up
question, she stated that the cost of charging an electric
vehicle varies based on the make of the car and the driving
habits of the owner.
11:12:50 AM
MS. HALL continued to slide 4 and gave an overview of the
machine specifications for charging. She said that level 1
outlets take between 1 and 6 days to charge, level 2 outlets
takes between 6 and 24 hours, and level 3 outlets take between
18-120 minutes to charge. She added that level 3 chargers
continue to become faster and more powerful and are meant for
semi-trucks.
11:16:50 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY asked how the charging machine works.
MS. HALL answered that electric vehicles have an adapter similar
to one an individual would have on their laptop charger. She
added that different adapters can be used to adjust to the
outlet's voltage.
11:19:21 AM
MS. HALL continued to slide 5 and stated that electric vehicles
have between 80 and 500 miles of range, although the lower end
is made up mostly of older models of the Nisan Leaf. Newer
electric vehicles are being made with larger batteries, which
help compensate for the loss of range experienced due to cold
weather conditions during winter. She said that 1 gallon of
gasoline is approximately the equivalent of 32.3 kWh. She added
that her husband drives a vehicle with a 64 kWh battery that
needs charging "every couple of days," meaning it uses
approximately only 2 gallons of gas during that time.
11:22:11 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked how far a fully loaded electric tractor
would be able to travel on a cold day.
MS. HALL answered that she was unsure of the exact number of
miles, but it would be in the hundreds due to the size of the
battery. She added that Tesla is estimating 500 miles of range
in California, but 40 percent of that range could be lost due to
cold weather in Alaska.
11:24:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked how long it takes to recharge the
battery of an electric semi-truck.
MS. HALL answered that at a level 2 machine such as the ones
owned by ReCharge Alaska, it would take seven or eight hours.
She added that technology is improving for the purpose of
decreasing the time it would take to charge a larger vehicle.
In response to a follow-up question, she stated that the
substation would determine whether a grid would be able to
handle larger charging machines.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether ReCharge Alaska has received
an estimate from Golden Valley Electric as to how much its grid
would be affected by people switching to electric vehicles.
MS. HALL answered that ReCharge Alaska has not received such as
estimate but added that it works with the utilities to ensure
that it will not do something that would cause issues with the
grid. She added developers of residential areas follow the same
principle.
11:30:47 AM
KRIS HALL, Co-founder, ReCharge Alaska, added that Golden Valley
sent out a memo stating that it would have enough power for the
Fairbanks, Alaska area even if everyone living in the area were
to switch to an electric vehicle. He added that each utility
has some work to do for the transition to electric vehicles as
more people start to use them.
11:32:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether ReCharge Alaska was aware of
Golden Valley stating that the intertie between Fairbanks and
Healy, Alaska was already near capacity.
MR. HALL answered that it was not. He added that he is
confident that the utilities will continue to upgrade their
infrastructure.
11:33:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE asked whether there is technology to
balance peak and off-peak charging hours.
MR. HALL answered that Juneau, Alaska is currently the only
locality participating in off-peak hour charging. He added that
there are only approximately 2,000 electric vehicles in the
state of Alaska. There are settings on many electric vehicles
that can be changed based on peak hours for charging.
11:36:27 AM
MS. HALL continued to slide 6 and addressed frequently asked
questions regarding electric vehicles in Alaska. She reiterated
that electric vehicles work well in Alaska, including electric
trucks at the North Slope, and that the time it takes to charge
a vehicle has several dependent factors. As time goes on and
more charging machines are installed, the likelihood of having
to wait for a fast charger will decrease.
11:38:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether there is an adapter that
can allow for the plugging in of an electric vehicle to the same
outlet one might plug their car into to keep the battery alive
during the winter.
MS. HALL answered that existing infrastructure such as those
outlets is already utilized. She added that additional
infrastructure is necessary only if an individual wants to
charge their vehicle at a faster rate. In response to a follow-
up question, she stated that most available grants for charging
stations are aimed at building them at least every 50 miles.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether it's practical to run an
electric vehicle while it is charging if the driver were to be
stuck in a cold place.
MS. HALL answered that the amount of power needed to run the
cabin of the vehicle is insignificant compared to the amount of
power it takes to move the vehicle in the course of driving.
She added that she has personal experience with charging and
running her own electric vehicle in very cold conditions.
11:45:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked whether there are any issues with
starting an electric vehicle in cold conditions.
MS. HALL answered that the battery management system keeps the
battery at a temperature that allows the vehicle to be powered
on at any time, although this can result in the battery being
drained while the vehicle is off.
11:46:28 AM
MS. HALL stated that many aspects of vehicle maintenance
necessary for a vehicle with an internal combustion engine are
not necessary for an electric vehicle. She continued to slides
7 and 8 and gave a brief history of ReCharge Alaska. The
company was founded due to a lack of electric vehicle in
infrastructure in Alaska. She said that ReCharge Alaska began
with old Nissan charging machines and has upgraded to newer ones
as the older ones became unsupported. ReCharge Alaska has
expanded to Healy, Alaska, and along the Richardson Highway in
Delta Junction and Glenallen. She stated that one of the
biggest challenges facing ReCharge Alaska at the beginning was
having to charge by kWh due to regulations, which caused
charging to be more expensive during the winter.
11:51:08 AM
MS. HALL added that there have been other challenges, such as
weather and areas with poor cell phone coverage. For this
reason, ReCharge Alaska machines have credit card readers. She
continued to slides 9 and 10 and stated that electric vehicle
infrastructure continues to grow in Alaska. There will be an
additional $52 million in grant opportunities in Alaska for the
building of electric vehicle infrastructure. She gave a
comparison between charging by the minute and by kWh using a
Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model Y, using a chart found on slide 10.
She said that if net metering became available to ReCharge
Alaska, it would provide it with an opportunity to use solar
panels at its charging stations.
11:57:52 AM
MS. HALL added that because of cell phone coverage and access to
smart phones, it is important to consider having credit card
readers at all charging stations. The importance of direct sale
for electric vehicles is that it means Alaskans will not have to
go through a third party in order to purchase one. She said
that electric vehicles currently do not pay any road tax, as
that tax is tied to the sale of gasoline.
12:00:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY asked for clarification on the direct sale
of electric vehicles.
MS. HALL answered that it means that there are no Tesla dealers,
and to buy a vehicle from Tesla means an individual would have
to buy it directly from the company. She added that she is
unaware of any potential resale restrictions.
12:01:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked who is financing the capital costs of
ReCharge Alaska.
MS. HALL answered that it is self-financed other than a few
small grants from Golden Valley Electric.
12:02:38 PM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked what the battery life expectancy is for
electric vehicles.
MS. HALL answered that both of her electric vehicles have a
battery warranty of eight years. She added that batteries can
last much longer, and that they can be used for other purposes
even if they are no longer good enough to propel a vehicle
forward.
12:06:25 PM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked how many electric vehicles are in the state
of Alaska.
MS. HALL answered that there are approximately 1,700 electric
vehicles in Alaska, not including hybrid vehicles. She added
that the growth rate for new electric vehicles in Alaska is
currently close to 100 per month. In response to a follow-up
question, she said that she does not believe that people give
much thought to the extra mechanics involved in a hybrid
vehicle. She added that she believes it is more likely that
people are more hesitant about fully electric vehicles due to
sparseness of electric vehicle infrastructure in Alaska.
12:10:13 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Energy meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House Energy Committee Recharge Alaska.pdf |
HENE 3/9/2023 11:00:00 AM |
ReCharge Alaska |