EV Charging Stations
How much have retailers misjudged this investment?
I’ve been keeping an eye on the EV charging stations at our local largest and busiest retailer in Sandy, OR. I made a video of a little walk-through. There was only one charger in use. The day before, there were none.
My first video - it’s silent, so here’s a description. The first 4 chargers are Electrify America. The middle part is the power distribution complex needed to supply enough juice in case all the chargers are being used at once. The last 7 chargers are Teslas.
These chargers and power units take up a lot of valuable real estate.
Last year, I interviewed our local Ford dealership and asked them about their chargers. They have ‘Blink’ brand Level III, 120KW ‘fast chargers’ and they were very expensive.
Ford's EV Sales
Ford’s EV losses climb but overall profits are up - 7News Miami and CNN Their losses come from EVs; their profits come from good ol’ internal combustion engines (ICEs)
From Blink’s website, I saw that the heavy duty models, ‘level 3’, 120 KW ‘fast chargers’, with charge time of 15-30 minutes, cost $75,000 each, plus installation.
If Fred Meyer’s chargers cost about the same, we’re looking at an investment of $825,00 plus installation, just at this one store. Probably about a million dollars all together.
It looks like they could have gotten along with a much smaller commitment and only need a couple chargers.
It’s too bad, because Fred Meyer is a good company, and Bev and I do most of our shopping there.
It’s not just on the Left Coast, chargers sit empty all of central Georgia. Tesla will be the only American automaker making BEV’s in 5-7 years imo. They are reaching saturation.
Think of the cost of the telephone lines to each house and the black phone on the kitchen wall. Inventions bring change, but change doesn't always last. (Only until the next change comes along.)