There are dozens of electric-vehicle charging stations in Arkansas, but, overall, the state is not quite on par with other parts of the country with its capacity for electric vehicle drivers to travel from border to border.
That was an issue that two representatives from the Francis Energy -- which is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- faced as they planned a recent trip to El Dorado.
On Sept. 23, Andy Matson and Matt Ellis, project development associate and director of marketing, respectively, for Francis Energy, made a pitch to the El Dorado City Council to lease city-owned property to install an EV charging station downtown.
"When Mr. Ellis, who is (an) electric vehicle driver himself, (we) were planning our trip down here to present, we looked at bringing his electric vehicle down here," Matson told council members.
The pair declined, he said, explaining, "It can be done but in the city of El Dorado, there are currently no charging stations to plug in an electric vehicle to make that trip a little bit easier."
Most of the EV charging stations in the state are clustered in central Arkansas, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville, Conway, Lonoke, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Arkadelphia.
'One already in town'
There are few EV charging stations in south Arkansas. One of them is in East Camden.
And another is already in El Dorado.
The Karl Malone Ford Lincoln auto dealership has offered free service from its EV charging station for about a year, the general sales manager said.
The station is located near the front of the business on the south end of the lot and is open 24 hours a day.
"It's the only one in El Dorado that we have. All of our out-of-town people do come here because we'll get a call from the local motels and they send them here. We do all of them," he said.
The GSM said the station is used "pretty regularly," noting that he has often seen drivers charging up when passing the dealership after hours.
In addition to references from local hotels, the GSM said EV drivers also receive assistance from information systems in their own vehicles.
"When you buy one of those electric vehicles, it does tell you where the charging stations are closest to you," he said.
The EV charging station has not required any maintenance in the several months that it has been up, said the GSM.
Proposal
Matson, who has local ties to the community, pointed to the city's growth over the past decade and said the availability of EV charging stations should match that growth, particularly with more visitors coming to town for local events and more people driving EVs.
"I've actually been coming down here for 20 years. I started in college coming with a friend down here, shot my first deer down here and then skip ahead a bit, I started dating a young lady from El Dorado," he said with a laugh.
"I remember coming down here when you couldn't bypass Sheridan. You had to go through had to go through Sheridan and Hampton and Fordyce," Matson continued. "That has changed quite a bit and the city of El Dorado has changed quite a bit in the time that I have been coming here."
He mentioned the Murphy Arts District, which has drawn quite a few visitors to town for various entertainment events since its launch in 2017.
Francis Energy is looking to install dual-channel fast EV chargers in El Dorado near MAD.
Matson explained that the stations will include Level 3 chargers, which offer the fastest recharge on the market at a rate of three to 20 miles of range per minute.
"And we don't want you to pay a dime for them. What we did in the past is Mr. Ellis has helped build out these networks in the state of Oklahoma," Matson said.
Francis Energy has installed more than 120 EV charging stations in Oklahoma.
Matson and Ellis said the stations are spread out every 50 miles across the Sooner State -- which helps to alleviate "range anxiety" for EV drivers.
"So, the range anxiety, having those charges every 50 miles (allows) you to make freer trips, plan your trips a little bit easier to plug in your vehicle," Ellis said.
He said Francis is building EV charging station networks in Oklahoma and 22 other states in America's heartland, noting that other companies who install EV charging stations are not focusing on the region.
In El Dorado, Francis is requesting a lease at $10 per year for the city-owned parking lot across from MAD in the area of Cedar, Hill and Locust streets and will install the station as funding becomes available.
Questions
Council Member Paul Choate inquired about the location and Matson said Francis looked for a busy location with lots of amenities.
Choate suggested a gravel parking lot on Locust Street, just south of the Haywood hotel, noting that the lot is also owned by city and located across from MAD.
With groundwater issues in the area, Choate said the site will not likely be used for commercial development and will be paved at some point in the future after the water issues are addressed.
"What kind of implementation are you looking at?" Choate asked.
Matson and Ellis said the project hinges on the availability of state and federal funding.
"It makes it a little bit easier to get the funding for sites in El Dorado when we do have leases in place already. We would love to lease whatever property you deem appropriate as soon as we can," Matson said.
Council Member Judy Ward asked how many other Arkansas cities have "signed up" with Francis and Ellis said three, all along Interstate 40.
Ellis said Francis has built 116 sites with similar lease agreements in place.
"We're happy to go into details, as far as cost-share and things like that if it came up. The reason we've been successful is that we don't know which locations are going to be winners and losers at this point," said Ellis.
"And a lot of it, the successful ones of the last couple of years, were in communities or with business partners that took real ownership over that asset or that amenity being in their community or at their business," he continued.
Choate inquired about the cost of a 20-minute charge and Matson said the price is $10 and is based on utility corporation rate structures.
"They tell us how we can charge, so ..." Ellis answered.
"And how far will that $10 take you?" Choate pressed.
"It depends on the vehicle. If you drive a Porshe Taycan, you could probably go 200 miles. If you drive my Chevy Bolt, you could probably go 80, 90 miles," said Ellis.
Council Member Andre Rucks broached the topic of sales taxes and the economic impact on the community.
"Yeah, we run into property tax and sales tax. There's a lot of taxation coming on the books. We're seeing that in Oklahoma, whereas, like, when you buy gas, you pay 'X' amount for road use," Ellis said. "That's now on the books in Oklahoma, it just doesn't take effect until 2024, so you'll see so much per kilowatt hour going toward road-use tax."
Council Member Billy Blann noted that Francis is proposing a two-charger station and Matson said the lease allows for a maximum of four chargers, depending on lot size.
Choate asked why Francis did not consider an existing gasoline fueling station as the location for the EV chargers.
"We don't have to. You can put a charging station anywhere," said Ellis, adding, "We tend not to, unless it's directly on the highway. Unless it's Bucee's (large convenience store chain, based in Texas), where they're located, that's the nature of it. Instead of putting it in a corner, why not bring it into the community?"
He said Francis's requests for proposals with various states require that EV charging stations are accessible to restrooms and water sources and that the locations are safe.
Ellis described the presentation to the council as a "first date."
Council members took no action on the proposal, agreeing that further negotiations will be done with City Attorney Henry Kinslow.