Grand Canyon National Park has just made a change that will make visiting the national landmark easier for drivers of environmentally friendly electric vehicles, installing six fast chargers at the park's south entrance.
The chargers were put in by EV charging company Electrify America, which has already rolled out 3,500 fast chargers across 800 charging stations in 46 states since it began operations in 2018. The company is also increasingly using solar energy for its vast charging network.
As our national parks continue to be under the threat of the effects of human-driven pollution, it makes sense for them to install infrastructure that makes it easier to visit in an EV. Unlike gas-powered cars, which produce air pollution and emissions that contribute to the overheating of our planet, EVs produce no tailpipe emissions as they do not burn gas.
🗣️ When you think about owning an EV, what concerns you most about public charging stations?
🔘 Chargers not working 🚫
🔘 Chargers not being available 😥
🔘 Charging being too expensive 💰
🔘 Charging taking too long ⌚
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
The chargers at Grand Canyon National Park are all DC fast chargers with speeds of between 150 kW and 350 kW, meaning that EV drivers will be able to fill their batteries quickly and then leave the chargers open for the next park visitor.
The comment section on Electrek's article about the new chargers provided evidence for their need.
"A couple weeks back we actually made a trip to the Grand Canyon. We went to the south rim, but had to skip the north rim because there were really no chargers," wrote one commenter.
"Definitely need more charging choices at all our National Parks. And State Parks, and National Forests. And Highway rest stops," wrote another.
However, a third commenter was happy to provide some evidence that these necessary changes are already happening, writing, "We do. But, you might also be surprised at how many already have them. A few places we stopped at on our 2021 EV road trip across the US and back: Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore, multiple state parks in PA, MN... Even my local state park in PA which is largely unheard of outside the local area (Caledonia/Michaux Forest) has a few Clipper Creek chargers now, which pleasantly surprised me."
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