In one of the weirdest turns on the road to an electric future, a road rally to Prudhoe Bay in electric cars is depending on temporary charging stations that have been installed along the remotest route in America to help the electric cars get the energy they need to keep going — and get back to the electrical grid.
The Alaska Electric Vehicle Association, working with Launch Alaska, brought the petroleum-based charging stations to the 500-mile stretch of remote northern road. They are not diesel generators, but they are giant lithium batteries that, when returned to the power grid, will be recharged themselves through fossil fuel electricity.
Ten vehicles and drivers took part in the demonstration project.
“The AKEVA initiative – Electrifying the Last Freeway – provides critical support for the 2022 Arctic Road Rally, giving volunteer drivers the unique opportunity to travel the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean for the first time ever in an electric vehicle,” the group said. Cars left on Aug 12 for Prudhoe, and were due back in Fairbanks at Golden Valley Electric Association by Aug. 16. The trip was 1,096 miles in all.
The Alaska Department of Transportation installed the temporary electric-vehicle fast chargers at the Yukon River crossing, and similar ones are at Coldfoot Camp, Trans-Alaska Pipeline Pump Station 4, and Deadhorse. The charging stations were trucked in with traditionally fueled vehicles in advance of the rally and will be removed.
“The route from Fairbanks to Oliktok Point is in many ways synonymous with the challenges that have to be overcome across many Alaskan communities to achieve electrification of transportation. Many Alaskan communities rely on isolated microgrids and diesel generation for electricity. The needs of Alaska and many rural areas go beyond that of funding for charging equipment. Substantial investment needs to be made to fund electric utility line extensions, substation upgrades, and battery storage,” the organization wrote.
Those buying electric vehicles also face some financial investments. Although the Inflation Reduction Act has a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new electric or hybrid vehicle, Ford and General Motors have just hiked their prices for the vehicles by a nearly equal amount.
Day one of the 2022 Arctic Road Rally featured a kickoff event hosted by Golden Valley Electric Association in Fairbanks, then a 259-mile drive up the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot.
The group said that even when the electricity is generated by fossil fuels, electric vehicles produce significantly fewer emissions than traditional vehicles in almost all situations; it’s also cheaper to recharge than pump gas. And even when their electricity is generated by fossil fuels, “EVs are poised to be powered by renewable sources as soon as those sources are ready.”
The results are already promising, the group said. While drivers predicted the Ford F-150 Lightning would arrive at Seven Mile Camp with an estimated 20 percent battery energy remaining, the truck pulled into camp with 37 percent battery energy remaining. Other vehicles reported similar positive results.
But it is summer and the temperatures are ideal for electric vehicles, even in the Arctic.
Electric vehicle drivers from around the country spent the third day of the 2022 Arctic Road Rally at the northern terminus of the route, dipping their toes into the Arctic Ocean at Oliktok Point and participating in an EV display hosted by ConocoPhillips, a major sponsor of the electric vehicle demonstration event.
Along the route north, the vehicles suffered the usual insults of the Dalton Highway, including punctured tires, dents, and muddy exteriors.
It was a demonstration project that is known in the circle of electric vehicle enthusiasts, but skeptics note it depended entirely on oil from the ground.
