Connect with us

Arizona

Arizona to set up electric vehicle charger network with federal infrastructure funds

Published

on

Arizona to set up electric vehicle charger network with federal infrastructure funds


The state of Arizona unveiled plans for the primary levels of its electrical car infrastructure plan, which is about to deliver roughly 30 charging stations to the state’s interstates within the coming years.

A public assembly Thursday night time allowed Arizonans to inquire concerning the state’s five-year plan to create a community of charging stations alongside main roadways, with the challenge set to start subsequent 12 months. The Arizona Division of Transportation is main the multi-million greenback effort to help EVs within the Grand Canyon State following passage of the federal infrastructure invoice late final 12 months.

Advertisement

The state’s challenge falls underneath the Nationwide Electrical Automobile Infrastructure Program, which is offering incentives for renewable energy-powered transit throughout the nation.

“The objective is to construct out a nationwide community of EV chargers with the intention to scale back vary nervousness and foster elevated EV adoption,” mentioned Thor Anderson, a challenge supervisor with ADOT.

NEVI will present states with $5 billion to construct electrical car chargers. Beneath this system, Arizona will obtain $76.5 million over 5 years to assemble these chargers alongside “different gasoline corridors.”

These corridors will embody Interstate 40 in northern Arizona, I-17 in central Arizona, Southern Arizona’s I-10 and I-8 in southwestern Arizona. Interstate 19 north of Nogales has additionally been designated as one of many corridors.

This system requires a charging station each 50 miles of interstate with at the very least 4 150 kw chargers at every location, officers mentioned. The chargers should be degree three, that means autos can attain an 80% cost in about half-hour.

Advertisement

13 of the present charging stations alongside the chosen corridors meet DEVI parameters, mentioned Brendan Connelly, who’s with the engineering firm AECOM. Roughly 17 extra stations will must be constructed or upgraded to satisfy this system’s necessities.

The price to construct one of many stations is estimated to be as a lot as $700,000, in response to Daina Mann, an ADOT spokesperson. Tesla could construct new stations that adjust to NEVI, Anderson mentioned. Nonetheless, the corporate has but to decide to upgrading its present methods within the state.

One other federal requirement is that stations will use CCS charger connectors, which differ from some present connectors used to cost vehicles like Teslas. However the well-known electrical automobile model wouldn’t be excluded from the charging stations, Connelly mentioned.

“Tesla chargers are at the moment solely accessible to Tesla customers, however there are adapter varieties that may permit Tesla customers to hook up with CCS ports,” he mentioned.

Whereas the stations might be accessible to many EV house owners, the associated fee to make use of these stations stays unclear. “We’re going to need to work that out in our contracts that we develop,” Anderson mentioned. “And that’s one of many particulars that we are going to work out after August 1.”

Advertisement

The division is looking for out non-public house owners for the charging stations, who may obtain as a lot as 5 years of funding for upkeep and everyday operations, Anderson mentioned. A number of residents in attendance have been involved with the safety of the privately owned stations like Russell McCloud.

“What’s the plan for after the very fact?” he requested. “How do you retain thieves from stealing cables to acquire the copper? How do you propose to watch each station after it is constructed?”

There might be a give attention to dependable distributors who’ve agreements with producers to assist exchange elements when ADOT contracts the stations out, Anderson mentioned. The division’s objective is for a system with 97% reliability, he mentioned.

ADOT is analyzing extra roadways for charging stations. The state may have anyplace from 70 to 130 eligible charging stations constructed when the challenge is accomplished, Anderson mentioned. 

“It might be primarily based on want as a result of we’re making an attempt to shut gaps within the system, in order that we are able to enhance individuals’s means to journey from one place to the opposite, and we wish to try this on as many roads as we are able to in Arizona,” he mentioned.

Advertisement

As a way to qualify for the federal funds state officers have to submit a tough draft of the charging station plan by August 1. America’ Joint Workplace of  Power and Transportation has till September 30 to approve the proposal earlier than extra public outreach will happen.

ADOT has greater than 400 stakeholders for the challenge, Anderson mentioned. A gathering with a few of these people and teams occurred on June 30.

A closing draft of the challenge might be accomplished by November 30, with implementation anticipated to start in 2023. Enter on the preliminary plan, together with solutions for added “different gasoline corridors” could be submitted by way of July 21 right here. Suggestions can be given at 800-915-4301 and AZEVPlan@azdot.gov.

– 30 –





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Arizona

Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence

Published

on

Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Gunshots reportedly rang out at Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor on Christmas night.

Airport officials tell Arizona’s Family that police responded to reports of gunfire around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

One security checkpoint and the PHX Sky Train was temporarily closed as part of the investigation, however the areas have since reopened.

At this time, police have not confirmed if anyone is injured or if anyone has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

Advertisement

Arizona’s Family has a crew on scene. Check back for updates

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Arizona

Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl

Published

on

Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl


Can’t make the trip to Atlanta for Arizona State football’s Peach Bowl matchup versus Texas? Harkins Theatres has you covered.

The Valley-owned theatre is inviting Sun Devil fans to watch the Peach Bowl live on the big screen at two locations: Harkins Tempe Marketplace and Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

Fans can show off their Sun Devil pride and experience the “ultimate gameday setting” with tickets for $22 that include a complimentary small popcorn.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1. A win over Texas would propel Arizona State into the College Football semifinals, where it’ll play the winner of Oregon-Ohio State.

Advertisement

Fans can get their tickets on Harkins’ website or in person at the Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe Marketplace box offices.

Sun Devils grateful for support

Arizona State getting into the College Football Playoff, or even winning the Big 12 alone, was unprecedented.

The Sun Devils are the talk of the Valley right now, and whether it’s from those traveling across the country to watch in person or cheering from home in the Valley, the team is thankful for all the support they’re getting.

“I’m grateful and blessed to be in the corner that (Sun Devil fans) want to be supporting,” Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo said. “I know what it costs and what it takes to get there. It’s nice to have those people that try their hardest to get there and could be spending every dollar in their bank account to get there.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos

Published

on

‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos


Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.

In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”

Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.

“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”

Advertisement

Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.

The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.

Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.

“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.

Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.

Advertisement

“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.

Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.

Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.

She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.

“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.

Advertisement

The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.

Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.

“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.

A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.

skip past newsletter promotion
Advertisement

Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.

“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.

Advertisement

“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”

What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.

“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”

Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.

A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.

Advertisement

Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”

Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.

Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending