There is a lot to be grateful for this year, and we are ever grateful to our 50,000+ JuiceBox customers around the globe for making Enel X Way what it is today. We are especially grateful to the customers that regularly share their insights and feedback with us and continue to share the benefits of smart charging with other EV drivers. Thank you for your continued support.
With that, here are the top five things all of us here at Enel X are thankful for this year.
1. Giving EV drivers range confidence & more choices
With 46 new electric vehicle models available and more coming to the streets in 2020, there is a lot to look forward to when considering which new electric car could be yours to purchase now and in the new year. In 2019, eight battery electric vehicle models have more than 200 miles of range, with Tesla leading this charge:
- Tesla Model S range: 373 miles
- Tesla Model X range: 328 miles
- Tesla Model 3 range: 325 miles
- Hyundai Kona Electric range: 258 miles
- Audi e-tron range: 248 miles
- Chevy Bolt range: 238 miles
- Jaguar I-Pace range: 234 miles
- Nissan Leaf range: 226 miles
Tesla says it has revived the Roadster and expects the new range to be around 620 miles on a single charge in 2020. Even though the U.S. Department of Transportation notes that the average commute is less than 40 miles per day, more and more plug-in electric vehicles are increasing in range, bolstering driver confidence and providing more convenience. The electric vehicle market is leaving range anxiety in the dust.
As battery electric vehicle technology has improved, 2020 appears to be the year of the electric truck. Roughly one year ago, Rivian unveiled its R1S and R1T at the LA Auto Show, and this year, Tesla unveiled its Cybertruck, which truly “doesn’t look like anything else," as Elon Musk said in the opening. Both are expected to hit the streets in 2020. With SUV and truck sales dominating the U.S. vehicle market, it’s essential to have both electric SUV and truck options available for more mainstream EV adoption. We’re excited about the new Ford Mustang Mach-e SUV, which Ford gave everyone a first look at the all-electric pony this month.
2. 100% ZEV movement
In May, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Mike Levin (D-CA-49), along with five of their colleagues, introduced the ZEV Act of 2019, which would require that by 2030, 50% of new passenger vehicles sales are zero-emission vehicles, ramping up 5% each year to 100% by 2040.
As Vox Writer David Roberts said, “The trend of states targeting 100 percent clean electricity has gone viral,” and we are seeing that the 100% ZEV movement is now following suit. We’re thankful for a number of communities for their bold commitments and efforts in creating a zero carbon future for us all. Roll call:
- Hawaii was the first state to commit to a goal of 100% renewable energy and zero-emission transport by 2045.
- New York Governor Cuomo is calling for a 100% clean power mandate by 2040 and another bill to require all sectors of the economy, including transportation and buildings, to reduce their GHG emissions to zero by 2050.
- Maine legislation establishes goals of 80 percent renewable energy by 2030 and emissions reductions of 80 percent by 2050.
- California also proposed AB 40 for 100% ZEV by 2040, after the California Air Resources Board passed the Innovative Clean Transit Rule in 2018, which requires all buses be zero-emission by 2040.
- Colorado now requires automakers to increase sales of zero-emission vehicles from the current 2.6% of cars sold in the state to 6.23% in 2030. Colorado joined 10 other states — California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont — in implementing electric vehicle standards.
According to the American Lung Association, transitioning to zero-emission vehicles would deliver $33 billion in total health and climate savings by 2050. Today, the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit (Section 30D) has a unique opportunity to work for more drivers for a longer period of time. Congress must pass a package of legislation before the end of 2019 in order to continue funding.
3. Support from utilities
According to BNEF, there is more than $2.5 billion in approved or filed charging infrastructure programs from U.S. utilities. Across the country, there are many local residential and commercial EV charging station rebates available to new and existing EV drivers. You can check your eligibility for electric car incentives by state, see some top residential EVSE rebates listed below, and buy your JuiceBox here if you qualify:
- Alameda AMP EVSE Incentive - up to $800
- Anaheim Public Utilities EVSE Rebate - up to $500
- Baltimore Gas and Electric EVSE Rebate - up to $300
- Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Redding (SCPPA) - up to $600
- Consumers Energy EVSE Rebate - up to $400
- Connexus Energy EVSE Rebate - up to $500
- DTE Energy EVSE Rebate - up to $500
- LADWP EVSE Rebate - up to $500
- Maryland EVSE Rebate - up to $700
- PSEG Long Island $500
- Smart Charger Rebate - up to $500
- SMUD Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Rebate - up to $599
Most notably, our partnership with Sonoma Clean Power that first launched three years ago, is still going strong via GridSavvy. The Northern California-based Community Choice Energy provider is still offering FREE smart electric vehicle charging stations to its customers in both Sonoma County and Mendocino County. To date, we’ve deployed nearly 3,000 JuiceNet-enabled smart charging stations as part of the GridSavvy program, and over the last few years, Sonoma Clean Power’s Drive EV program has also resulted in the purchase of 1,260 plug-in electric vehicles within its service territory. On average, its customers received $11,000-off each new EV, driving record growth in the area.
4. Smart charging opportunities
There is an inherent flexibility in how drivers charge electric cars at home. While many vehicles are plugged in overnight for twelve or more hours, the actual time required to charge an electric vehicle’s battery is often much less. Smart charging can reduce peak electricity load by over 50%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s November 2019 report: “Gearing up: Getting the Grid Ready for EVs.” The report also found that smart charging will significantly reduce grid investment, by 30% to 70%, representing hundreds of millions to billions of dollars saved on a yearly basis. In California, grid upgrades over the last six years cost only $17 per EV.
This year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 676 into law on October 2, which is a key milestone in achieving ambitious goals to transition both to a zero-emission transportation sector, and to a 100 percent carbon-free electric grid by 2045. At Enel X Way, we believe that Vehicle Grid-Integration is a critical first principle to achieving widespread decarbonization goals in energy and transport, while still providing electric car drivers with convenient charging solutions. Our own virtual battery — an aggregation of Enel X Way WiFi-connected charging stations — in California has grown to 40 megawatts in total capacity this year, thanks to more drivers plugging in and connecting JuiceBox smart chargers. Over the summer months, we had a demand response participation rate of over 90% in California and are grateful to those that contributed to a more reliable, sustainable grid and improved electric car infrastructure.
5. Going electric is taking all shapes and sizes: e-Scooters to e-Buses
From micromobility to mass transit, all-electric vehicles are becoming a real part of our sidewalks and streets, and we don’t see this trend abating. We are grateful for some major market milestones this year—Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from electric car manufacturer Rivian, with plans to deliver the first vans by 2021.
Electric school buses have also made their debut beyond hearts and minds. Dominion Energy Virginia announced plans for an electric school bus deployment, starting off with 50 buses in service by the end of 2020, which will be the largest school bus fleet in the nation. Dominion Energy also has a goal to replace 50% of its diesel buses with all-electric buses by 2025 and 100% by 2030.