Checking back in from Bisbee

[Benjamin Nead]

Hi everyone . . . 

Some of you old-timers might remember me from when I moderated the conversations here on EV Tucson, circa 2013 through early 2024. I was also involved with the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association for much of that time. Professionally, I retired from my radio announcing job at Arizona Public Media in late 2023, after putting in my 35 years. I've now relocated to Bisbee, about 120 miles southeast of metro Tucson. I've been down here just about a year now in a house with rooftop solar. 

While all this was happening, I've kept in touch with several of you on isolated email threads and on Zoom calls, some of those originating out of Phoenix with the Elders Climate Action folks. Electric vehicles are still a focus - and I still drive my 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which turned 13 years old just last week - but I've gotten interested in all aspects of renewable energy and household electrification over the past decade: on both a technical how-does-it-work basis, as well as tracking and reacting to what is now, politically speaking, a rather intense time in this country for all this stuff. 

Closer to the new homestead, I engage in activities with the local Mule Mountain Democratic Club. We're the folks who, among other things, produce our own versions of the nationally-coordinated non-violent mobilizations that are now occurring around the country on a more or less monthly basis. My protest sign always has a "Hands Off Clean Energy" flier taped to it (see attachment here.) I hope some of you are also participating in these street corner gatherings, wherever you are, with a similar message. 

In the coming weeks I'll be sharing additional information about what's going on with activities that EV drivers will want to know more about, including some in Tucson. The big one on my calendar right now is something called Sun Day, which will be occurring on September 21st . . . a Sunday, no less, falling on around the fall equinox. Mine will be a rather low key affair that I'm hosting for the locals under my shaded carport . . . 

https://thirdact.org/sun-day/

Sun Day is nationally sponsored by Third Act, the mostly seniors-oriented climate awareness group put together by activist Bill McKibben. The focus is mostly on an appreciation of solar, but many are going to spotlight electrified transportation (everything from eBikes to EVs) and household electrification tech, such as induction cooking and heat pumps. We're almost certainly past a time where we should narrowcast publicly with just one thing. Electric cars should be part of the same conversation as solar PV and everything else in your house that hopefully doesn't run on fossil fuel any longer. 

In Tucson, there will be a much more ambitious Sun Day event at the ENR2 Building on the U of A Campus. Maybe whoever is lining up a National Drive Electric Week gathering in Tucson this year (I produced those events from 2011 through 2015) would like to figure out a way to cross promote  and/or collaborate? I'll be talking with the Tucson Sun Day organizers on a Zoom call early next week. 

Moving forward, I'll have news about what's going on with EVs down this way. I'm just now making contact with a Cochise County official (Bisbee is the county seat and I'm literally walking distance from all their offices) who has somehow gotten their hands on some old unspent Inflation Reduction Act money, looking to know where they should be putting in regional EV charging infrastructure in the coming year . . . 

https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/cochise-county/cochise-county-adds-7-new-ev-chargers-in-southeastern-arizona

More soon . . . 

Ben Nead 

Bisbee, AZ 

[Josh Landess]

good to see you're doing well and involved with these matters.

The word from Rio Rico is that Santa Cruz County now has 2 locations with DC charging (Pilot at exit 12, and Cropper's Chevrolet in Nogales), and a small number of Level 2s.  This is not to say things are great here for EVs, but they're improving.  I tend to post updates on plugshare when I can.

Josh

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[Benjamin Nead]

Thanks, Josh . . . 

Hope you're also doing well. 

After not really taking advantage of public charging in Tucson all those years, I now use it whenever I visit Sierra Vista. This might be once a month or so to do the big box shopping thing. All those stores are located near each other along the Fry Blvd business district, about 35 miles from my front door. To access that part of town and still have enough electrons left to get back home on the i-MiEV's 16kWh battery, I've gotten to know the sales staff who work at the 3 or 4 Fry Blvd. car dealerships (Nissan, Kia and Chevy, all with new EVs in their showrooms) that are under the local Ed Morse franchise. All of them have a single L2 EVSE that can be reliably accessed Mondays through Saturdays, 7 or 8AM to around 5 or 6PM. They're free and I've given good reviews on PlugShare for the Chevy dealership one. If I need to kill some extra time while the battery fills up, I'm about a mile's walking distance from a good Asian stir fry place up the street. 

And . . . 

There is some good recent news in regards to NEVI, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. This was established as part of Biden's Infrastructure Act and, of course, cancelled as soon as the Orange Menace was crowned for a 2nd time and started killing off anything associated with clean energy. Something like 5 billion dollars promised to be spent on states was suddenly taken away. That's when the lawyers went to work and Arizonans should thank our AT, Kris Mayes, for her efforts to get what was promised to us. Well, that federal money has now been freed up and those L3 chargers will now get built and installed across the country, including here in Arizona . . . 

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/08/12/us-unlocks-frozen-ev-charging-funds/

Part of the settlement, though, "streamlines" procedures so that businesses associated with the infrastructure no longer have to meet certain criteria regarding a percentage of minority ownership and other so-called DEI stuff. Even some safety and environmental requirements in regards to construction, siting and labor are going to be compromised. No priority any longer to construction in rural or underserved communities and the unfrozen funds won't cover a few places that are considered "too Blue," such as Minnesota, Vermont and Washington DC: basic MAGA enshitification. But at least there is something resembling a victory here for high speed EV charging in Arizona. 

Ben in Bisbee 

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[Bruce Plenk]

Ben- Thanks for your update!!! Keep up the good work!!

Bruce P

ps Drove across Wyoming last week and found a big shortage of L3 chargers in Laramie!!! And even had to lower mysef to use my Tesla adapter once....But all good!!

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Bruce Plenk

Solar Possibilities Consulting

Tucson, AZ 

520 909-1389

[Josh Landess]

I'm trying pretty hard to avoid using the adapter to charge my Kia EV6.  So far I have succeeded, but I haven't really taken a proper road trip yet. 

Josh

[Rob]

Ben

New to the TEVA group, but I am organizing coordination with Drive Electric AZ and have coordinated a number of National DE events in Colorado.

When you speak with the Tucson organizers for Sun Day, perhaps you can inquire whether it may be permissible and helpful to coordinate a National Drive Electric Even as part of the event? If so, providing info on how to get plugged in would be appreciated.

I have spoken with several local businesses about venues and I am striking out. 

Rob Bowers (in Vail area)

[Benjamin Nead]

Josh, Bruce, Steven . . . 

Thanks for the charger and adapter stories. So much I could say about the dynamics of having to interact with the Supercharger Network when you rather wouldn't. I should also add that nothing prepared me for the wild exploits of the Ketamine Kid this past year or so and how he's trying so hard to destroy his business so spectacularly. I really feel for Tesla owners who bought their vehicles with the best of intentions and now have to live through all of this craziness. 

Beyond wondering when Aptera is finally going to get here, I've got my eye on a spate of American-made, entry level up-and-coming EVs, I'm watching what's happening with the Slate EV Truck with certain interest (I've got the $50 deposit down, but I'm not sure at this point if I'll bite,) the relaunching of the Chevy Bolt EV and what Ford is just now talking about with their new "Skunk Works" platform. 

GM and Ford are now going to be using LFP batteries on their entry level EVs. Good. But I'm surprised that Chevy is still going to have to source Chinese-made CATL cells for the first year or so of the Bolt's production. Ford says they'll be adding V2X capability to everything they're building off their new platform. Very good. And, their LFP cells will be manufactured domestically, hence cheaper. Even better. And it looks as if Ford has also gotten a few key people who have jumped ship from Tesla to help them . . . 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bgd1dDkNRY

Hey Rob . . . 

I'll be talking to Betsy Wilkening this next week on a Zoom call. She's the lead for Third Act Arizona and the organizer of Tucson's Sun Day, at the ENR2 building on the U of A Campus. Not sure if you've ever seen the courtyard there. It's beautiful, like a shaded rainforest. But not exactly an easy (nor probably even desirable) place to fit a full size EV into . . . 

https://www.rkarch.com/projects/university-of-arizona-environment-natural-resources-2

But . . . I know Carl has an eBike and would like to attract more of that audience to TEVA. You guys could bring one or two of those with you and have.a table display, with pictures of EVs that belong to club members, brochures to hand out, etc. Bring a 100W solar panel and an eBike charging interface with you and you'll be a hit. Maybe get the Solar Guild guys to work with you on the PV and charging battery part? 

Hate to say it, but it's probably already a little late to plan a proper NDEW style event for late September. Part of the problem I had with NDEW while I was doing it was that it's always staged at a time of year when it's still miserably hot in Tucson (but absolutely gorgeous in, say, Ohio or Connecticut.) It's hard to find another cosponsoring organization who wants to stand around in an unshaded parking lot with you and then expect a crowd to know you're even there. So, you have to pay for publicity, maybe pay a rather exorbitant fee for the empty parking lot itself, hope the local media will give you some sort of free advance promotion, get your own event insurance (although the EVA should probably help you there) and then see what happens. 

It's a LOT easier for TEVA to be a guest element within an established Tucson event with a built-in audience: one that allows a way for you to bring, say, two or three cars with you. You might have to deal with an entry fee and other restrictions. But it's the event organizers who are paying for the big things . . . like venue booking, event insurance and parsing through the promotional jungle to get interested attendees. By the time I left TEVA in 2018, we had about 14 or 15 scheduled public appearances each season . . . maybe one or two in November, before the holidays, and then a spate of them from February through May. June through mid October is not a fun time to stage an EV gathering in Tucson, unless you can find an air conditioned indoor venue. 

More to come on all of that . . . 

Ben in Bisbee 

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[Dennis Embry]

Dear EV Tucson group,

When we joined the group with the first Nissan Leaf sold here in Tucson. I bought a 2013 Volt (which we I still use). We have bought a Hyundai 5,  is a wonderful car.  We bought also bought a different home, which we installed solar and three Tesla batteries.  We also have solar on for company (PAXIS Institute) office on Sabino Canyon Road (across the road to restaurant .     The 2013 Volt  is a car to  go to our company (PSAXIS Institute) on a different work schedule or a doctor appointment, if we have different schedules.

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