In this update: Urgent News, 2018 Recap, 2019 Event Calendar, Charging Stations

Urgent News

• Tesla is retiring the Model S and Model X 75D configuration! This leaves the more expensive 100D models. Order by Sunday, January 13, if you’re interested in the 75D!. Read more here.
• Our first meet-up will be at Caffe Florian in Kealakekua on FEB2!

2018 Recap

Our mission is to help get more electric cars on our roads and to help our island ‘kick gas’. It is about raising awareness of the many benefits of the next generation of transportation. We do this through sharing, teaching, and influencing. Throughout 2018, we’ve done that well. Here’s a recap: 

• Hosted over 14 events, including National Drive Electric Week, Earth Day at UH, HELCO Energy Fair.
• Partnered with the STCH (Sustainable Transportation Coalition of Hawaii), and Drive Electric Hawaii to help with state-wide education efforts, including the launch of STCH’s EV certification program with local dealers (the Kamaaina Nissan sales team is now certified). We partnered with Drive Electric Hawaii on fun videos in the lead up to Drive Electric Week. Here are sample clips: Maintenance, Fun, Charging.
• Collaborated with HELCO on future charging stations locations. (They launched their Keaau Shopping Center and Papaaloa Country Store Fast Chargers last year.)
• Contributed to HECO’s Electrification of Transportation Roadmap.
• Supported events by sustainability-minded group like the Citizen’s Climate Lobby.

Many of you contributed precious time, drove across the island to help out with our events, shared stories on social media, and organized our activities. Thanks to your efforts, we have a growing number of electric cars on our roads. (The number of electric cars grew 30% to 455 in 2018, per Hawaii.gov stats.) Thanks to you we’re ‘kicking gas’.

A memorable experience for me: driving through the Pahoa Christmas Parade and hearing the announcer share the merits of electric cars and exclaiming: “We must end the petroleum madness… drive electric!”

2019 Events

Regular meet-ups are a great way to for BIEVA members to share their experiences and collaborate on matters related to ownership, purchase, and maintenance.  It is a great opportunity to help would-be EV owners get their questions addressed and get behind the wheel of one! It’s great to hear about people actually end up making a purchase after attending one of our meet-ups.

This year, we’ll try to hold monthly gatherings but we’ll also mix it up. In addition to ‘talking EV story’ over a coffee, we’ll throw in a rally or two, join car shows and parades, and even participate in charitable events (Toys for Tots or a food drive rally are possibilities). Of course, we’ll also continue the tradition of our National Drive Electric Week events. If you have suggestions for events or would like to volunteer at any of them, please let me know.

Our calendar is still evolving but you can take a sneak peek at our Events page. Note that we’ll not have a January event. 

Charging Stations

Our charging station situation is improving. According to Plugshare.com, there are around 50 public charging stations (including 6 Fast Chargers and 10 residential charging stations that might be made available to the others). Our HELCO partners are in the process of installing another Fast Charger at the Punalu’u Bakery in Kau and is exploring a site in Hawi. We are collaborating with the State Energy office on additional sites, including the Mauna Kea State Park. 

Share the plug.Of course, most owners are able to enjoy their home charging station, especially with a number of more affordable long-range electric cars that are now available. Some rarely have to depend on public stations. That said, there are some of us who live off grid or have shorter-range vehicles and rely on public stations to get around. When using a station, please take this into consideration. With more electrics on our roads, we’ll see more situations where there is queue at a charging station. 

Share your charging experience.Most of our charging stations are on Plugshare.com and accessible on their respective mobile apps (e.g., Greenlots, SemaConnect, Chargepoint). If you have the app, you can leave feedback about the station immediately. This will help others understand the status of the station and report issues to the operators. Your feedback can help ensure that stations are up and running.

Keep In Touch!

See the latest blog posts on our News page and on Facebook. If you’re a Tesla Owner, join our Big Island Tesla Owner Facebook group.