Nebraska Electric Vehicle (EV) News/Events - April 2019 Published by the NE Sierra Club and Electric Vehicle Assn of NE * EV displays at two more April Earth Days - showcase your EV or work at our booth * EV Team surveys needs of potential EV owners (price? size? range? charger locations?) * LB678 (to raise 10 to 15%VW settlement for EV Chargers) part of "budget" bill * EV Team's evolving master plan for utilizing VW Settlement in NE for charging stations * Report on completed Earth Day Exhibits and booths *********** VOLUNTEER!! TO DISPLAY YOUR EV OR STAFF OUR BOOTH For Lincoln - Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The DEED website does not work for Lincoln. If you volunteered through it you need to contact us directly. We have no way to email you otherwise. To volunteer for our Lincoln Earth Day EV booth, email me directly at albert.lierz@gmail. To display your EV at Lincoln Earth Day, email Brenda Moskovits at brenmosk@gmail.com. For Bellevue - Sunday, April 28, noon to 4 p.m. To DISPLAY YOUR EV - <> https://driveelectricearthday.org/event.php?eventid=1635 TO HELP AT THE EV BOOTH <> http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ega311hejuttgr82/start ********** SURVEY OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE FOR NEBRASKANS TO BUY AN EV The EV Team requested all coming to its Earth Day Omaha booth to complete a 2-3 minute questionnaire on what requirements must be met for the respondent to buy or lease an EV. The factors included in the survey were: size, range, price, charging stations availability, charging speed and charging costs. Over a hundred completed the survey. The survey will be repeated at Lincoln and Sarpy County (Bellevue) Earth Days. We are hoping to garner over 300 questionnaires from these three Earth Day. Eric Williams is working with our team to put the questionnaires on-line also. The questionnaires will be tabulated and analyzed during May to prepare for hearings by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in June on a Nebraska charging stations plan. *********** LB 678 is now part of appropriations bill LB 678 addresses the Volkswagon Settlement. Nebraska's share is $12,248,347. Ten percent of this was assigned to electric vehicles charging stations by NEDQ. But the VW Settlement allows for 15%. This bill would increase the amount for EV charging stations in the VW Settlement from 10% ($1,224,835) to 15% ($1,837,252 ). This extra 5% would have a dramatic effect in expanding the EV charging infrastructure in Nebraska. LB 678 also promotes faster chargers over slower ones. The larger batteries in the new EV models take longer to charge and need faster charging stations. We may need your help soon to garner support for this section of the appropriations bill. Watch for our call to action!! For more information on LB 678, contact the Nebraska Sierra Club legal counsel, Michael O'Hara, who testified in favor of LB 678 at the Nebraska legislature. *********** EV Team DEVELOPS SCALABLE PLAN FOR EV CHARGING STATIONS The EV Team is developing a series of scalable plans that correspond with the differing amounts of VW Settlement money that might be available for high speed DC charging stations and 208/240 volt chargers. The goal is not to provide a definitive plan to NDEQ but rather help those of us on the EV Team who testify to be aware of all the variables and assumptions that need to be take into account. Continuing development of this plan provides lively discussion at EV Team meetings. The EV Team has surveyed EV owners in the past and will do so again. In the meanwhile is it surveying non-owners to see what it would take to get them behind the wheel of an EV. (See our article on this survey above). ********* EV TEAM CONSRUCTS EV BOOTH FOR DRIVE ELECTRIC EARTH DAY AND SIMILAR EVENTS Hats off to those who developed the signs and displays for our tables at UNL Weatherfest 2019 and Earth Day Omaha. Brenda Moscovits, Lewis Pinch, and Louis Lester each produced many laminated signs and posters that highlight the features of EVs and EV Charging Stations. This booth will be used again at Lincoln and Sarpy County Earth Days this month and again in September for National Drive Electric Week events in the Omaha and Lincoln areas. *********** EV Exhibits at UNL Weatherfest 2019 and Omaha Earth Day were a Huge Success Brenda Moscovits coordinated the dozens of EV owners who exhibit their EVs at these two events. **********