Facing Iowa’s EV challenge

If Iowa, particularly our western region, wants to keep our young people home and attract new business, we have to embrace the electric vehicles that are transforming transportation and lifestyle, whether we like it or not.

The nation, and young people in particular, are embracing electric vehicles. Population and economies are growing most where EVs are being adopted. The electric Tesla has become the best-selling car in the world, while in China, the world’s largest car market, over half the sales are electric vehicles. Despite not being sold in the U.S. because of our government’s restrictions, China is poised to take over the world auto market and re-do to US automakers in this decade what Japan did to our carmakers in the 1970s, which is realign the entire market with more efficient vehicles.

In Norway, 97% of all new car sales are electric. EV market percentage in other European countries: Germany 23%, United Kingdom 29%, France 28%. The overall European average for 2024 was 24% — and growing. In just eight years, all new cars in Europe will be EVs to stem the poisoning of the atmosphere. Sales of EVs in the U.S. are growing, but still account for only about 10% of new vehicles, due in large part to the dearth of public charging.

California, our nation’s largest car market, is devoted to minimizing air pollution. More than 40% of its car sales are now electric, with a mandate that only electric cars can be sold there beginning in 2035. Next year that state’s building code will require all new residential construction to include electrical vehicle charging. Californians can also receive $12,000 in state rebates on electric car purchases in addition to the $7,500 federal tax credit, meaning a $36,000 Chevy Equinox EV (with a range of more than 300 miles) could net out at under $17,000, plus $2,000 rebates from electric utilities for home charger installations.

Other states are seeing similar EV growth. In Colorado, where more than 15% of new vehicles are electric, the state offers a $5,000 tax credit in addition to the federal $7,500 tax credit.

Even conservative Texas, the heart of oil country, is offering $2,500 rebates for EVs in addition to the federal credit.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are selling well-built electric cars in Mexico for under $20,000 without rebates.

Until this summer, when two opened in the Hy-Vee parking lot, there were no public charging stations for EV drivers in Storm Lake. Until then, local residents whose children drove EVs home for Christmas or the Fourth of July had no place to charge while visiting their friends and families here. We got calls for help at the Times Pilot office because we have a charger for our electric pickup truck. We were happy to accommodate these folks who might otherwise have been stranded here with their Teslas. But it dramatically points out Iowa’s problem.

While EV charging is ample along Interstate 80 across mid-Iowa, it’s not good elsewhere. There are no fast chargers on four-lane US highway 20 between Waterloo and Fort Dodge, a distance of 102 miles. Likewise, no fast chargers on the 70 miles between Early and Sioux City, on what is supposed to be Iowa’s major east-west highway north of Interstate 80. And north of Storm Lake, you won’t find a fast charger for 70 miles, until you hit Interstate 90 that spans southern Minnesota.

Storm Lake has the only public charger in Buena Vista County. The next closest chargers are in Early (13 miles) and Cherokee (22 miles). Surprisingly, there’s nothing in Spencer or the Iowa Great Lakes area, one of Iowa’s top tourist destinations. Iowa needs to have fast public charging throughout our state, at least every 10 or 20 miles if we are going to attract travelers, commercial development and young people who want to visit, live and work here.

DC (direct current) fast chargers can add 150 to 200 miles of range in 20 to 30 minutes. They differ from level 1 and level 2 chargers found at homes and businesses that add between 3 and 30 miles per hour, respectively. Level 1 chargers can operate with almost any 120 volt outlet and are included with the vehicle. Level 2 chargers require 240 volts, same as a clothes dryer, and cost about $1,500 installed, although some carmakers will pay for it if you buy their vehicle.

The cost for a DC fast charger runs between $20,000 and $150,000, depending on how fast and fancy it is. A $50,000 charger should generate about that much in revenue per year, paying for itself within a couple of years. Plus, President Biden’s infrastructure bill provides federal aid for construction of EV fast chargers.

Convenience stores are finding fast chargers are a boon for business. Travelers buy lots of stuff while they’re charging their cars.

Every town in Iowa should have a fast charger. Local and state government could provide low or no interest loans to help a local business install them. If no business steps forward, the community could provide the service.

The need may not be there quite yet, but growth will come fast. There are probably only a dozen electric vehicles in Storm Lake now, but that number will grow exponentially as the price of EVs comes down to beat the price of internal combustion vehicles. You can see the growth of EVs in Iowa’s cities — where the young people we want to keep home are moving. There are 12 EV chargers that are always busy at a Hy-Vee in Waterloo. Same goes for Des Moines and Iowa City.

Gas stations will continue to service us for decades, with 284 million internal combustion engines running on America’s roads now and long into the future before they fade away. Internal combustion and electric vehicles can coexist. Some people have tried to make EVs a political issue, others just don’t like the idea of change. Regardless of your feelings, the trend to electric vehicles is undeniable. We can’t be like the blacksmith in the early 1900s who thought the horseless carriage was just a passing fancy.

Thirty years ago Mike Mitchell tried to sell us his early cellular phones, the ones that were about the size of a loaf of bread. What a dumb idea, I thought, hauling this blunderbuss around when the trusty old landline on my desk worked just fine. Now I’m tethered to my tiny cell phone, just like the rest of America. Can’t live without it. We don’t even have a landline anymore. Almost no one does. And I realize now that to deny the newest automotive technology is just as futile.

To survive, Iowa must embrace this new mobility, with programs for our cities and counties that foster new technology. Building codes must be modernized so that EV charging is built into all new construction. Every town in the state must have public fast charging.

We need to adapt or die, before time — and our next generation — pass us by.