Tag: Small-Town America

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TESCO Shrugged Part 1

A grocery chain in the United Kingdom, Tesco, is pulling thousands of FREE public chargers from several of its locations because of the rising cost of energy. The plan is to eliminate 2,147 FREE ports which is a 38% reduction of the FREE charging available at 600 locations in the UK. That is a 5% drop in the OVERALL public infrastructure in Great Britain.

It sounds to us like Tesco is WalMart with a British accent and we know WalMart hosts several ElectrifyAmerica locations… but they are by no means FREE. Should they be?

Seriously, if WalMart is dedicated to the environment, should we expect free charging? Subsidized charging? How about Volkswagen? IKEA, North America? The US Government?

In America, we have a 1 TRILLION dollar infrastructure spending bill in place with $7.5 BILLION set for public charging. The question is, who is paying for this and who SHOULD be paying for this?

You know we are just guys talking, but let us set aside the mandates and the climate for a moment and discuss the role corporate America should play, the government should play , and each of us will play as EV adoption increases. Enjoy part one of our discussion.

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Tucker Carlson Gave Me My Opinion…

Do you think for yourself? We like to think we do, but how many of us adopt the opinions of others for no other reason than some perceived authority. Even if you agree on one topic, does that mean their opinion is valid on another? Where do you draw the line?

Today, we take on a report of a West Virginia candidate that is anti-EV because he is anti-EPA and anti-Biden administration. Of course, he is just trying to “rile up” his base, but it is a prime example of something neutral, like EV’s, being turned into a political football in rural America.

We find it sad that this is the case, but it’s not just EVs; it is just symptomatic of a bigger issue: people’s inability to apply critical thinking in all situations. Some people are content to let someone else tell them what they think, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. The emperor has no clothes.

This is a two part episode. We try not to be too political, but it sort of turns into an indictment of the entire American political system. We split it up because the discussion (and it was a good one) went on for over an hour.

If this is not your cup of tea, next week we plan to release BOTH the continuance of this episode and an entirely new topic.

And by no means are we telling you how to think. We’re just offering food for thought.

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Have You Experienced Buyers Remorse?

Have you ever bought something that didn’t really live up to the hype? I know I have.

There is a YouTube channel called Jetters Garage and our attention was directed to a video entitled “Ford Watched My Viral Lightning Video – Amazing What They Said” which was a follow up to a video entitled “Why I regret buying a Ford Lightning! (EV Electric Truck)“. Jet is not new to EVs, having owned a Tesla Model S for seven years in San Diego, California.

That is a click-bait title if ever I’ve seen one, and I admittedly fall for click-bait often, but I was intrigued and started with the first video. Jet outlines the pros and cons of his new 2023 F-150 Lightning in the video and reveals his experience on a recent road trip. (At the time of this post, the video is 2 months old with 571K views.) His observations are interesting, yet not unexpected, regarding a newly introduced car model. These videos are must-see if you’re considering purchasing an F-150 Lightning.

This brings us to our discussion of his videos and his experience in general. Brent and Ben discuss some of their perceptions of living in southeastern Kentucky (SeKY) versus SoCal. We talk ownership, charging in public, and electric rates, including time of use (TOU) and why it makes sense there and not here.

Does Jet’s experience differ greatly from someone in small-town America? Listen to our opinion and feel free to weigh in with your own.

PS: Link to third video.

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Rappahannock Part 4: The Zack Morris Phone

As we wrap up (finally) our discussion of the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative’s presentation of the future of EV adoption in northern Virginia, we start looking at how we think EV adoption would look in small-town Kentucky. Rappahannock developed three scenarios where, on the high end, 30% of all cars in their territory were electric by 2030. On the low end, 5% and the middle ground was 10%. Based on several factors, Brent and Ben have differing opinions, but then Ben plays the ever popular “Zack Morris phone” card.

On the TV series Saved By The Bell, Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) used a Motorola DynaTAC, which was the first commercially available mobile phone circa 1984. This “brick” was literally 10-inches long not counting its rubber antenna, weighed 2.5 lbs., and cost $4000. Back then, you would have been crazy to have suggested in 30 years that almost everyone in the world would have a mobile phone in their pocket. The idea was inconceivable.

Are we on the precipice of such a change with EVs? It’s difficult to imagine 3 out of every 10 cars on the road being electric, much less 7 or 8 out of 10. There are forces at work to push 100% adoption, but will we ever get there? Just as the iPhone revolutionized the industry, what will make EVs as common as cell phones?

Also, RECs calculations on the cost to drive an EV support our own (R)EVD conclusions, but we could have told you we were right… we just don’t like to brag.

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Rappahannock Part 3: We’re All Going To Die

Okay, admittedly that title is a little over the top. The point, as we resume our discussion of presentation by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative*, is that everything has a life-span and much of our existing infrastructure is too old or too weak to support the growing demand of energy in America.

The solution is to revitalize and strengthen, harden, if you will, the grid to meet the growing need, but that, of course, takes money and resources. The question becomes, “Who is going to pay for it?” The real answer is you, me and all the other peoples of this land. Whether it’s via government through taxes or via utilities through increased energy rates, I guarantee we are going to pay for it.

That being said, we look at scenarios that Rappahannock put forth and the cost associated with each.

We also find out that Ben, sometimes… but rarely, gets confused and the senility kicks in. The real question is, “what point should we be concerned?”

*Rappahannock Electric Cooperative lies in the northern and eastern part of Virginia serving 170,000+ members. Being a cooperative of that size, REC is influential in the co-op world because of not only their size, but by their proximity to industry organizations like the NRECA and policy makers like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the US Department of Energy. This has allowed them to become a proving ground for many programs, leading the way in innovation and understanding for other cooperatives, and shaping the approach to challenges in the industry. As such, REC releases many reports, studies, and presentations showing their results both independently and jointly with other organizations.

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Taking A Trip Part 2: Out Of The Box, Even With A Fox…

EV’s are here, one can’t deny. You can’t deny, don’t even try…

But can I drive one here or there? Can I drive one anywhere?

You can drive one here or there. You can drive one everywhere.

Can I drive one to the moon? No, not today, it is too soon.

But you can drive them wherever you can go. Planning is key now on to the show.

In this episode, Brent and Ben continue the discussion of what a road trip may look like, specifically knowing what your EV is capable of and it’s efficiency is fundamental in getting you where you want to go. Infrastructure is still key, but the network of charging locations is growing daily and limited availability will be a thing of the past.

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Taking A Trip Part 1: Oh, The Places You’ll Go

EVs make sense, we firmly believe…

but how do they fare, when your small town you do leave?

In this episode (it’s one of three),

we share our experience so you can see…

with a bit of fore thought and the planning you’ll do,

how far you can go is really up to you.

Ben and Brent discuss Ben’s experience going further than the BMW I3’s 90 mile range; what it involved and how it played out.

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NRECA Study: Part 1-Knowledge is Power

NRECA posted an article titled NRECA Study: EV Owners Want Co-ops’ Help on Chargers and Special Rates. To summarize, the article summarizes a summary report published to summarize the study. As promised, I have said summary report and I want to explore some of the findings and offer my opinion on the matter.

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