Rural Interests

Chaired by Paul Hirt

For those living in rural areas of the United States, owning an electric vehicle poses some challenges, but also presents some unique benefits and opportunities. The biggest challenge is the limited availability of EV charging infrastructure outside the cities and beyond the Interstate highways. The biggest benefit is the substantial cost savings per mile when you drive on electrons rather than gasoline.

On the “benefits” side, rural owners of EVs stand to save thousands of dollars a year on transportation costs. Rural dwellers tend to drive more miles per year than their urban counterparts for the simple fact that everything is farther away. Fortunately, with an electric vehicle the more you drive, the more you save. Besides having fewer maintenance costs, electric motors are far more efficient than gas engines and the cost per mile for electricity is far less than the cost per mile for liquid fuels. For example, if you charge your EV at home with standard grid electricity from APS or SRP, you can normally travel 300 miles in an electric SUV for about $10-$15. Those living in rural areas who are considering buying an electric vehicle should check out this interesting article from CleanTechnica.

On the “challenge” side, it is not uncommon for those of us who live off the beaten track in rural Arizona to have to drive 100 miles one-way for groceries or a Home Depot. Round-trip shopping excursions with multiple stops on a hot summer day can tax the range limit of many affordable EVs. Increasing EV range with improved batteries and building out EV charging infrastructure are two key means for solving this challenge.

The Biden Administration and the State of Arizona are working together to expand EV charging infrastructure with generous federal incentives in what is called the NEVI program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Unfortunately, the planning and construction phases are time-consuming and state and federal planners are focused first on the Interstate Highway system. Rural highways will not see much development of EV chargers until 2025 or later. Here is a link to the State of Arizona’s EV infrastructure plan. The map linked here and viewed below  shows which highways in Arizona are currently slated to get additional EV chargers funded by the federal NEVI program.

DRIVE Electric Arizona works with federal, state, and local governments along with business and community leaders to promote accelerated rural charging infrastructure development to help bridge the urban/rural divide. Everyone, regardless of where they live, deserves access to a clean transportation future.

Images courtesy of Paul Hirt, representing various rural roads in Cochise County, Arizona.