Electric vehicles have charged up the sales charts in recent years, with makes like Tesla holding more value than a number of established brands, combined.

So it’s no surprise that, according to Blue Ridge Electric Co-op CEO Jim Lovinggood, EV charger usage has been blowing past the company’s expectations every year. And for a company that does business in a lot of rural parts of the Upstate, they’re not going to be left behind.

“We’ve been excited about the concept behind it from day one,” Lovinggood said. Blue Ridge Electric Co-op has installed Level 2 and 3 charging systems around the Upstate, with about eight Level 2 chargers having been installed so far. They installed 13 chargers at Carolina Travel Center in Fair Play. Blue Ridge also offers chargers at all their offices. A map of electric charging locations around the Upstate can be found here.

Lovinggood said the cooperative has been talking about renewable energy for at least 10 years, with solar, geothermal and EV charging stations. The co-op bought its first car, a Nissan Leaf, about  seven years ago for testing.

The Level 2 chargers, while cheaper to build and install, take several hours to charge some of the hungriest batteries, which are in Tesla vehicles. For Level 3 chargers, the co-op cut that down to a 15-25 minute time frame from a nearly exhausted battery. Lovinggood said the technology will need to continue to evolve before it’s widely adopted by consumers.

With many automakers pledging to go all-electric by 2030, a study by BloombergNEF found that 7% of global electric vehicle sales are already happening, and sales in the United States are passing 2%. Experts say that should continue accelerating as new products are produced. Ford has an all-electric version of its F-150 pickup ready to hit the market, and General Motors is not far behind with an electric version of its best-selling Silverado pickup. Tesla, of course, has been selling electric vehicles for nearly 10 years.

As for what the cost would be to “fill up” an electric vehicle, Lovinggood couldn’t say as far as exact dollar amounts, but said it would be less than a fill-up at any gas station, which cost $44.85 to fill up a conventional car with a 15 gallon tank that’s empty.

Electric cars may hit a few snags, however, as Lovinggood noted there’s not a universal plug to fit all vehicles. Moreover, the adoption of EVs couldn’t happen all at once, or there would be problems with the electrical grid with demand outpacing capacity. But he believes as long as the change isn’t overnight, electric companies will be able to meet the demands for the increased electricity.

“I really believe you’re going to see the changeover to EVs quickly,” he said.

Source: Mike Rowand (Duke Energy), SAE Government Industry Meeting 2020

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