Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Rhino Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: Yet Another Reason EVs are a Bad Choice Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:32:55 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 137 Message-ID: <20240613183255.00005d4f@example.com> References: <_NGdnQo7bcjKpvf7nZ2dnZfqn_SdnZ2d@giganews.com> <20240613171620.0000412e@example.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Injection-Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:32:58 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="8efbc785259c1d0202aeebb1519922a7"; logging-data="2618816"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18m1sWz5XDgctBIbChCWxIc8qjWvQZn30I=" Cancel-Lock: sha1:hOJ+7SdGKmbPPN6iEYrbJGKVxuU= X-Antivirus: Avast (VPS 240613-16, 6/13/2024), Outbound message X-Newsreader: Claws Mail 4.2.0 (GTK 3.24.41; x86_64-w64-mingw32) X-Antivirus-Status: Clean Bytes: 7972 On Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:56:00 +0000 BTR1701 wrote: > On Jun 13, 2024 at 2:16:20 PM PDT, "Rhino" > wrote: >=20 > > On Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:20:39 +0000 > > BTR1701 wrote: > > =20 > >> I've noticed that several of the EV charging stations at my local > >> mall seem to have the cables ripped out. (There are also huge > >> swaths of L.A. that are now dark at night because thieves have > >> ripped apart streetlights to steal the copper inside.) So now even > >> if you happen to find one of the rare chargers that can 'fuel-up' > >> your EV, you're likely to find it useless due to thievery. > >> =20 > >> ---------------------------------- > >> DETROIT (AP) =E2=80=94 Just before 2AM on a chilly April night in > >> Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric > >> vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking > >> lot. Two men, one with a light strapped to his head, got out. A > >> security camera recorded them pulling out bolt cutters. One man > >> snipped several charging cables; the other loaded them into the > >> truck. In under 2=C2=BD minutes, they were gone. > >> =20 > >> The scene that night has become part of a troubling pattern > >> across the country: Thieves have been targeting EV charging > >> stations, intent on stealing the cables, which contain copper > >> wiring. The price of copper is near a record high on global > >> markets, which means criminals stand to collect rising sums of > >> cash from selling the material.=20 > >> The stolen cables often disable entire stations, forcing EV > >> owners on the road to search desperately for a working charger. > >> For the owners, the predicament can be exasperating and stressful. > >> =20 > >> Broken-down chargers have emerged as the latest obstacle for U.S. > >> automakers in their strenuous effort to convert more Americans to > >> EVs despite widespread public anxiety about a scarcity of charging > >> stations. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe EVs take too > >> long to charge or don't know of any charging stations nearby. > >> =20 > >> If even finding a charging station doesn't necessarily mean > >> finding functioning cables, it becomes one more reason for > >> skeptical buyers to stick with traditional gasoline-fueled or > >> hybrid vehicles, at least for now. > >> =20 > >> Two years ago, according to Electrify America, which runs the > >> nation=E2=80=99s second-largest network of direct-current fast charger= s, a > >> cable might be cut perhaps every six months at one of its 968 > >> charging stations, with 4,400 plugs nationwide. Through May this > >> year, the figure reached 129-- four more than in all of 2023. At > >> one Seattle station, cables were cut six times in the past year, > >> said Anthony Lambkin, Electrify America's vice president of > >> operations.=20 > >> "We're enabling people to get to work, to take their kids to > >> school, get to medical appointments," Lambkin said. "So to have an > >> entire station that's offline is pretty impactful to our > >> customers."=20 > >> Until a month ago, police in Houston knew of no cable thefts. Then > >> one was stolen from a charger at a gas station. The city has now > >> recorded eight or nine such thefts, said Sgt. Robert Carson, who > >> leads a police metal-theft unit. > >> =20 > >> In one case, thieves swiped 18 of 19 cords at a Tesla station. > >> That day, Carson visited the station to inspect the damage. In the > >> first five minutes that he was there, Carson said, about 10 EVs > >> that needed charging had to be turned away. In very large cities > >> like Houston, charging stations typically contain an especially > >> large number of plugs and cables, so thefts can be particularly > >> damaging. "They're not just taking one," Carson said. "When > >> they're hit, they're hit pretty hard." > >> =20 > >> The charging companies say it=E2=80=99s become clear that the thieves= are > >> after the copper that the cables contain. In late May, copper hit > >> a record high of nearly $5.20 a pound, a result, in part, of rising > >> demand resulting from efforts to cut carbon emissions with EVs > >> that use more copper wiring. The price is up about 25% from a year > >> ago, and many analysts envision further increases. > >> =20 > >> Charging companies say there isn=E2=80=99t actually very much copper = in > >> the cables, and what copper is there is difficult to extract. > >> Carson estimates that criminals can get $15 to $20 per cable at a > >> scrap yard. "They're not making a significant amount of money," he > >> said. "They're not going to be sailing on a yacht anywhere." > >> =20 > >> Still, the more cables the thieves can steal, the more they can > >> cash in. At $20 a cable, 20 stolen cables could fetch $400. > >> =20 > >> The problem for the charging companies is that it=E2=80=99s much cost= lier > >> to replace cables. In Minneapolis, where cables have been clipped > >> at city-owned charging stations, it costs about $1,000 to replace > >> just one cable, said Joe Laurin, project manager in the Department > >> of Public Works. > >> =20 > >> =20 > >=20 > > I can think of several solutions to this problem, though some would > > require some research: > > 1. Find a material to use that isn't copper but works well enough. > > (That's the one that requires research.) > > 2. Wrap the cables in metal cladding to make it harder to cut. > > That's been done for years. > > 3. Instead of providing a cable at the charging station, let the car > > owner provide it; the charger would only contain a port/receptacle > > for the cable. Initially, the cable could be kept in the trunk like > > booster cables but eventually the engineers would figure out a more > > elegant way to keep it hidden away and just pull out of the car > > somehow. =20 >=20 > Then you're just going to have thieves breaking into cars and > stealing their cables the same way they're vandalizing gas-powered > cars for their catalytic converters. Probably. Still it would entail somewhat more risk than just pulling up to a vacant recharging station and cutting the cables with bolt cutters so it might discourage SOME theft while implementing the better solutions.=20 > >=20 > > 4. Figure out how to charge wirelessly. I can charge my phone > > wirelessly by just laying it on the charging station. (Doing the > > same for a car might require some research.)=20 > > 5. Secure the facility so that only EV owners with a key card can > > enter. That would make it harder for the thieves to do their > > thieving. =20 >=20 >=20 >=20 --=20 Rhino