EAST LANSING — Public chargers don't just pop up anywhere, there is a strategy.
The goal is to get more access, and especially quicker charging, for those who may not have easy home charging options, like renters. AC Ev Charging Station
The new ones at the East Lansing station and Lansing Community College are part of a broader plan, said one of the architects of Michigan's electric vehicle charging network.
New electric vehicle charging stations can help open up a whole new market in the Lansing area including people who live in apartments and can't easily charge their cars overnight, said Mehrnaz Ghamami, a Michigan State University associate professor whose work includes creating the blueprint for the state's electric vehicle chargers.
A pair of new chargers, installed at the CATA Multimodal Gateway, 1240 S. Harrison Road, also known as the East Lansing Station, is a significant step toward helping more people think that electric cars may be right for them, she said.
"We actually picked this spot," Ghamami said.
The location is next to campus and near a freeway, in addition to trains, buses, dorms and apartment complexes, which makes for a great location, she said.
She was the lead author in a 2019 research paper that is now the guidebook used by Michigan utilities and ChargeUp Michigan, part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. ChargeUp has been involved in about 100 of the state's high-speed chargers, which can recharge a vehicle in a few hours or less instead of overnight.
Those faster chargers will open more access for people and are based at the transportation hub, which will give access to trains, busses, freeways and more, Brad Funkhouser, who is both the CEO of Capital Area Transportation Authority and executive director of the Eaton County Transportation Authority.
The new chargers have a QR code, which can be scanned by a smartphone and take the user to a survey about EV usage.
Researchers have struggled for years to learn more about how exactly EV users use the chargers and what issues they have, since it is difficult to study what has been such a small population, Ghamami said.
However, the number of people using electric cars is growing, Cox Automotive estimates that 2023 could end with a record 1 million electric vehicles sold in the U.S., where 2.8 million new cars were sold in 2022.
The Greater Lansing area has a big challenge and opportunity, since multi-family housing, like apartment buildings, make it difficult to charge electric vehicles for thousands of people, Ghamami said.
"In general, EV owners have some kind of charging station at their home," she said, which can be slow-charging and work overnight with little extra effort required for most people.
But at apartment buildings, it may not be possible for even that overnight slow-charging and very few apartments offer dedicated chargers as a perk so quick charging stations in good locations like the East Lansing station can offer EV access to a whole new crowd of people, Ghamami said.
More chargers, in more convenient locations, allows renters and others to consider electric vehicles and that helps drive more demand for more chargers, she said.
Electric vehicles have been around since the early days of the internal combustion engine and have more recently been an increasing sight on the roads.
They require charging, instead of fossil fuels, and the public charging stations that allow electric vehicles to roam free at distances usually require utility company upgrades and complicated logistics since the chargers tend to be expensive and can't go everywhere right away, Funkhouser said.
Greater Lansing is getting an ever-greater number of chargers.
There are more than 86 locations with public EV chargers in the Greater Lansing area, according to PlugShare.com, which maintains a searchable map. One of the largest, with 32 charging ports, recently opened at Lansing Community College.
There are chargers at car dealerships, medical centers, several Meijer's locations and other places across the Greater Lansing area.
The key, in planning electric vehicle stations, is to make it as easy as possible for drivers, Ghamami said.
That means close to freeways and places where people are driving, it means staggering the stations so people don't run out of power en route and it means working with utilities and other partners to find partners to share the costs, she said.
ChargeUp has had a role in building or locating around 100 of the state's 270 fast charging stations, including the two new ones near MSU's campus, said Jessica Crawford, a community programs coordinator for the organization.
Prepaid Smart Electric Meter Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415