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Well gentle readers, here’s the surprise I promised. As you might recall, I often link to Cowboy State Daily articles.  It’s a great news source for everything Wyoming, and is a delight even for non-Wyoming dwellers.  The good folks at CDS have been doing great work reporting honestly on EVs.  By the way, the SMM EV archive is here.  We begin with this:

Amid reports that the Biden administration is tapping the brakes on stringent emission standards to spur growth for electric vehicle sales, the congressional delegation from Wyoming and 137 other members of Congress want to pull the plug on the mandate altogether and let market forces take over.

The lawmakers wrote in a letter sent this week to President Joe Biden and Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, that most Americans ‘still prefer the internal combustion engine.’ 

The letter was signed by Wyoming Republicans U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, the state’s at-large congresswoman, and U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the Senate Western Caucus along with 17 other lawmakers from Western states.

‘Electric vehicles are far too expensive and ill-equipped for the long drives and harsh terrain people in Wyoming and across the West travel every day,’ said Lummis in disclosing the joint letter.

‘President Biden’s EV mandate is a disaster and needs to go,’ she said.

Wyomingites don’t let their representatives get very far from reality.  Ask Liz Cheney.  

Consumer interest in buying EVs in Wyoming is tepid at best.

Wyoming boasts the second lowest registration of EVs in the United States with 800, according to the latest figures provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.

As I’ve previously written, I see very few on the roads, and local dealers won’t stock them.

‘This again shows that even your own agencies know this mandate is absurd and unrealistic, and threatens to harm both industry and consumers,’ the legislators wrote.

‘The reality is that most Americans still prefer the internal combustion engine vehicle, and EPA’s proposed rule unnecessarily restricts consumer choice and forces expensive EVs onto Americans at a time when they can least afford it,’ they added. 

Don’t you wish your legislators had that kind of common sense?  I’ve written about this previously too:

Credit: Roger Varley via Cowboy State Daily

Roger Varley doesn’t see many Teslas stopping at his Point of Rocks Travel Center near the same exit as the coal-burning Jim Bridger power plant along Interstate 80 in southwest Wyoming.

In fact, Varley said the only time he takes note is when Teslas arrive on the back of a tow truck – getting dropped off at his adjoining RV park where they can juice up.

The RV park doesn’t have the fast-charging superchargers that the state has proposed building, but the RV hookups do the trick over a few hours of connection time. Customers even hang out at Ned’s Bar or Ned’s Café at the travel center to kill time, he said.

‘I’m considering putting in a bench, or park area, to wait,’ said Varley of EV owners who encounter ‘range anxiety’ with the gale force winds that occasionally slow down westbound travelers to a crawl between Laramie and his travel center along I-80.

Everyone seems happy with Varley’s back-of-the-envelope bill he charges these desperate customers who ride off thinking they got a more-than-fair charge at $30 or so – with an occasional $20 tip for helping in a tight spot.

‘I have no idea how much power costs to put in a car,’ he said. ‘We are both happy at the end of the day.’

That’s a very Wyoming attitude.  What the article doesn’t note is his chargers take eight or more hours for an 80% charge under ideal circumstances.  So Varley is probably making a few cents because he’s not drawing much electricity, and EVs aren’t coming close to a full charge.

Varley is joining others in Wyoming throwing their hands up over a federally funded program to build out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across Wyoming’s interstate system.

Varley, like other business owners, said there are still too many questions that need to be answered before he’s willing to invest his own money. He said more is needed to flesh out a viable EV plan that will be workable in the long run.

The on-again, off-again program was suspended last year while the state recast what it wanted. The program is moving forward again while it polls what fueling stations and others need to make it happen.

Varley is representative of some of the EV interests that have a stake in fast-charging EV stations.

‘We don’t see a lot of EVs – especially in the winter — but we are seeing more than we used to,’ he told Cowboy State Daily. ‘It’s not economical to invest in the stations, with one or two stopping by each month. If we see a line forming, then we’ll reconsider.’

State government is, mostly, sane on the topic:

Last May, Wyoming’s EV program was placed on hold over concerns the state could be stuck with a hefty bill if unprofitable stations are abandoned. There also was concern that the $24 million offered Wyoming won’t be enough.

Wyoming Department of Transportation gave new investors until the end of this month an opportunity to come up with new ideas and to gauge interest from potential station owners about participating in the federally backed National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

NEVI offered Wyoming nearly $24 million over five years to build 17 charging stations along interstate corridors on I-80, I-25 and I-90.

The program requires a 20% match from private businesses, which would build and operate the stations.

The feds would kick in money to support the stations’ operations for up to five years. The program required no state money.

After five years, the businesses are on their own with operating the charging stations.

The state, and private businesses, have recognized there’s no profit in it.

Under the state’s plan, each station would provide at least four fast-charging ports capable of generating 150 kilowatts of juice simultaneously, enough for a 20-minute fill-up. That’s more than what Varley is willing to add at his travel center – mostly because of the expense of building one.

Varley also sees issues with WYDOT’s plan to build the stations every 50 miles and be no more than 1 mile from an interstate exit. WYDOT would support a potential exemption, but Varley believes a better starting point might be stations placed twice the 50-mile distance apart from each other.

‘If the state can’t make it a profitable business, then we’ve got a problem,’ Varley said. ‘I just want the state to make sure the infrastructure is there, because there is a big stretch of unknown.’ 

And more recently: 

The Wyoming Department of Transportation may be getting a jumpstart to build out a multimillion-dollar network of electric vehicle charging stations across the state with federal money, but concerns continue to linger that the effort may be losing some steam.

WYDOT recently got a jolt to move forward with its proposed plans to build charging stations from the Federal Highway Administration – even though nothing has yet been built and solicitations to bring on board contractors for a statewide charging network haven’t yet happened.

No kidding:

‘I’m frustrated,’ said Justin Wood, an entrepreneur from northeastern Wyoming in Sundance, who has bought up property in downtown and throughout Crook County along U.S. Route 14 that runs from Devils Tower to Black Hills in South Dakota.

‘The biggest barrier to EV charging station development is the complicated application process, and how the Wyoming weather may impact the vehicles,’ wrote Wood, who said he can’t get WYDOT to reach out to him for help in navigating the procurement system.

‘I haven’t heard anything from anyone,’ he told Cowboy State Daily. 

That’s largely because the federal government has been far less than cooperative or helpful.

WYDOT is working with the FHA’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which has offered $24 million to build out 17 charging stations along interstate corridors on I-80, I-25 and I-90.

The program requires a 20% match from private businesses, which would build and operate the stations.

The feds would kick in money to support the stations’ operations for up to five years. The program required no state money. The comments submitted to WYODT last month echoed some of the same concerns expressed last year.

 I’ll bet:

Joseph Roth, vice president of member service with Sundance-based Powder River Energy Corp., wrote in his comments to WYDOT that the biggest challenges to implementing NEVI sites in Wyoming relate to low population density, limited EV adoption compared to other states, the significant upfront investments in the infrastructure and the issues related to the transmission grid stability needed to handle increased demand from charging stations, especially in rural areas.

‘The return on investment may be less attractive for investors,’ Roth said.

Translation:  Investors will lose money faster than Ford is doing on its EVs.

State Rep. Mike Yin, president and founder of OtterSpace LLC in Jackson, Wyoming, wrote that he’s interested in developing charging stations in the ‘tourism corridors’ that serve Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, as well as within the parks themselves.

OtterSpace operates a handful of charging stations that serve traveling tourists in Pinedale, Lander and Dubois, and has a partnership with the city of Laramie.

Potential barriers relate to the size of the investment needed to meet NEVI standards on large power demand from each charging station, as well as the requirement to only build the stations along interstates, Yin wrote.

He urged more flexibility to ‘target areas’ where EV traffic exists along tourism corridors.

 Yeah, well, the feds aren’t known for “flexibility” where Deplorables, like the entirely of Wyoming, are concerned.  Then there’s this little problem manufacturers and EV cheerleaders are also keeping under wraps:

Electric vehicles have had a tough stretch of late.

It’s been one worry after the other. Range of driving tapers off in cold weather, and batteries take longer to juice up when it’s cold.

Now reports are surfacing that tires on EVs wear out at a superfast clip. Some tire dealers across the country are reporting 7,000 to 10,000 miles is all they get. 

This isn’t a good track record given that most tires on gas-powered vehicles last 50,000 to 75,000 or more.

I’m delighted to get 30,00 to 40,00 miles with my conventional vehicles.  A complete set for the average SUV runs at least $1000.00.

Nonetheless, even with all of these woes for EV owners, the tire issues aren’t foreign to tire dealers.

‘Yes, we have seen quite a bit of wear on EV cars versus those on gas-powered cars,’ said Alex Gayvoronski, assistant manager of the Les Schwab Tire Center on 2nd Street in Laramie. ‘We’ve started stocking tires specifically designed for EVs.’

He attributed the worn tire problem to the weight of EVs plus the torque load stress on the tires.

As evidence of the overweight problem, Gayvoronski said that his tire store’s hydraulic lift struggles to lift a Tesla, which is heavier than a gas car.

‘After you lift 20 to 30 cars all day long, you can tell by the sound of the lift,’ he observed.

‘I just installed a set of tires on a Tesla 3 this morning,’ said Gayvoronski, who noted that executives at the corporate Les Schwab level and tire manufacturers have recommended certain tires for EVs to give them longevity – 40,000 to 50,000 miles.

The unhappy Tesla customer Gayvoronski highlighted paid $1,267.67 for a set of four Hankook 235/45R10 Ion Evo tires, balanced, with new stem values, disposal of the old tires and a warranty.

Everything about EVs costs more:

Rushing said tire shops like his also have to take extra precautions when changing out EV tires, like using special pads to lift them to avoid damaging the cars.

‘It’s those heavy batteries,’ he said. ‘It just makes the tires wear out quicker.’

EVs can get tires that last considerably longer than what’s typical, but they cost a lot more as well, Rushing said.

Final Thoughts:  I’ve said it before, but if you want an EV, fully inform yourself, and then buy one for each day of the week and change them like underwear.  At least that way you might have one charged when you need to go somewhere.  To be more accurate, EVs probably work if you live in an environment that’s warm all year, if you have a garage with a super-duper fast charger and a neighborhood electric infrastructure that can support one, and if you only need to drive say, 40 miles or so a day.  Oh yes, also if you can afford $10,000 or so more than you’d pay for a conventionally powered vehicle of the same type, and if you can afford to replace tires every 7000-10,000 miles.  Oh yes, and forget the garage thing.  Many manufacturers are recommending you don’t charge indoors—you could burn down your car and house—and you constantly watch your EV as you’re charging for the same reason.

Wyoming folk, except for 800 or so, know better.