26 of 80: Project Drawdown’s ranking of electric vehicles as a solution to climate change.
“I want to be able to drive my car anywhere.” Devon Kibby, founding member of the Alaska Electric Vehicle Association and Juneau’s electric vehicle (EV) guru, says his interest in electrical engineering led him to buy a “laptop with wheels,” but his motivation in the burgeoning sector is simpler. When EVs first started trending in Juneau, he realized that his efforts could help a new wave of EV owners drive electric further.
It was as recent as 2012 that EVs made a growing appearance on Juneau’s roads. Within the decade, Juneau has become a hot-spot nationally for EV adoption. Juneau is experiencing an EV boom, thanks to the work of individuals like Devon and organizations like the Juneau Electric Vehicle Association, AEL&P, the Juneau Economic Development Corporation, and the Alaska Electric Vehicle Association.
On a per capita basis, there is one EV per 76 residents in Juneau. There were 418 electric vehicles registered in Juneau as of November 2020. But this laudable number still only accounts for 1.6% of the over 20,000 locally registered vehicles.
Globally, the transportation sector is only second to the generation of electricity when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of global oil usage goes to fuel over one billion cars and trucks (there are over 5.6 million EVs). Locally, 29% of Juneau’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to highway transport. We may be a leader in electric vehicle adoption, but even Juneau needs to expand what Devon calls the “EV ecosystem” if we are to achieve 80% of our energy coming from renewable sources by 2045, as articulated in the Juneau Renewable Energy Strategy.
Since Juneau generates its electricity from renewable hydropower fed by high-altitude lakes, driving an EV is truly zero emission. Emission reductions are but one reason why EVs make sense in Juneau. Juneau’s moderate climate extends battery longevity—not too hot—without severely impacting performance—not too cold. The cost to operate an EV is relatively low and stable, as annual maintenance is very minimal and the price for locally-generated electricity used to power the vehicles fluctuates less than gas or diesel. Access to electricity is less likely to be impacted by global events or shipping issues. Moreover, so-called “range anxiety” related to the distance one can travel between charges is less of an issue in the water and land-locked town of Juneau, simply because we don’t have far to drive. With over twenty electric vehicle charging stations stretching from Eagle Crest to Eagle Beach, Juneau EV drivers can get anywhere they need without being far from a no-cost charging station. This is in part thanks to the donation of eleven used charging stations to JEVA and Devon doing the maintenance work to keep them operating.
While the reasons to purchase and drive an EV are myriad, to create a thriving “EV ecosystem” will take not only simply purchasing an EV, but also reevaluation of infrastructure, regulatory environments, and more. While Juneauites can currently drive from Douglas Harbor to Eagle Beach, charging at both points and places in between, it’s still not possible to drive an EV up the Alcan, and it’s barely possible to drive—let alone quickly-- between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
“Solving all the chicken and egg problems,” is what Devon spends much of his time doing these days, as he works with statewide and nationwide EV advocates to grow this nascent transportation sector within Alaska. And there are many such problems, from the more simple-- do we need more EVs in a community before we install charging stations, or should we install charging stations to show that EVs are possible in the community?—to more complex, like convincing regional utilities to create a rate structure for EV charging before there are even EV chargers in the region.
“There’s not just one thing to work on,” Devon explains. “To get a solution in place, there are five or six organizations that need to be coordinated.” He provides several examples. “You need fast chargers, which face a barrier from electrical demand charges,” a utility regulation issue that goes to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. “There’s legislative issues that pop up, like resale of electricity or road taxes,” referring to the fact that some road maintenance is funded in part through taxes on gas, and EV drivers don’t pay gas taxes. “There’s the municipal angle: what role do towns and cities play, how should limited resources be allocated, and which stakeholders bear the cost? Then there’s the simpler stuff, like how to get people to buy EVs. Each of these has to happen at the same time to make this ecosystem advance.”
But the ecosystem is advancing. The RCA is exploring rate structures for fast charging stations across Alaska. Tesla has a facility in Fairbanks for testing and tuning their EVs. Southeast utility Alaska Power and Telephone offers a rebate for customers who purchase EVs. AEL&P has a special rate for clients who charge EVs during non-peak hours on a metered charger. Federal grants totaling nearly $9 million are going to electrify Capital Transit, which has received its first electric bus with the potential for complete conversion to electric around 2030.
Thanks to advancements in battery storage and ongoing advocacy on the part of electric vehicle drivers, large-scale adoption of electrified transportation is in reach. Yet there’s still work for Alaska to do to secure its transportation and energy future, attract investment, and build the required infrastructure to fast-track this necessary transportation revolution.