Leah Thill, right, Michiana Area Council of Governments director of sustainability, and Ryan Lisek, Drive Clean Indiana program director, speak to the Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday, Jan. 23, about electric vehicles. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WINONA LAKE — While the Winona Lake Town Council in December approved for the police department to apply for a grant for up to three electric vehicles, council members still had lingering questions about EVs and the grant.

Tuesday, Jan. 23, any questions they had about EVs or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant were answered by Leah Thill, Michiana Area Council of Governments director of sustainability, and Ryan Lisek, Drive Clean Indiana program director, during an approximate half-hour presentation.

Lisek said, “When we start talking about electric vehicles and the recent state investment, we’re going to be looking at over $8 billion of investments that are going to be going in the great state of Indiana over the next two years, and these all deal with the manufacturing of the automotive space that supports electric vehicles and battery manufacturing, as well.”

There is a big transition happening into the “electric space and market” and more and more companies are going to be developing the “actual models that we know and love,” he said.

As for the price of a EV, like a Tesla, Lisek said they are becoming “more and more affordable for the average” person.

“And all those, coupled with the operations and maintenance savings are pointing to a longer-lasting EV transition that is going to be attainable by almost every American that is wanting to buy an electric vehicle,” he said.

Of the five best-selling vehicles in 2023, the first three are pickup trucks, he said. The Tesla Model Y is fifth, with the Tesla Model 3 in 12th place. Lisek said they’re only going to become more commonplace.

There are three different types of EVs. The battery EVs are battery only, have a range of 100 to 400 miles, no tailpipe emissions and regenerative braking. Plug-in hybrid EVs have an engine and battery working together, increased fuel efficiency, a 20- to 50-mile electric range and regenerative braking and “allows for you to recharge externally,” he said. The hybrid EVs have an engine and battery, increased fuel efficiency, battery can not charge from an external source and regenerative braking.

“So the electric vehicles for police and what we’re looking at here, is there are multiple American-made options. We’re looking at a fuel savings. There’s going to be no more trips to the gas station. We’re going to be able to charge at town hall and charge overnight and charge at police officers’ homes,” Lisek said.

As for the operations of the police vehicles, he said, acceleration is all there. “There’s no lack of power, and after it’s all said and done, there’s a lot of different financial incentives and for the first time in recent history, there’s going to be incentives that non-taxpaying entities like municipalities can take advantage of to overall lessen that cost and total cost of ownership,” he said.

Twenty percent of gasoline used by police vehicles is used to power the vehicle while it’s idle. Lisek said with EVs, there’s very little power consumed while in park. While efficiencies vary by models, “what we’re seeing here is basically 300-400 miles worth of range once it’s all said and done, and there’s different accessory mode options that make it more efficient to operate off a low-voltage system and there’s no carbon monoxide poisoning as associated with that.”

The big “takeaway” on performance, he continued, is that the EVs are fast going from 0 to 60 and even 0 to 100 mph. A comparison chart he showed for various vehicles going from 0 to 60 mph showed that it took the Ford F150 Lightning 4.1 seconds; Ford Mustang Mach-E 4.07 seconds; Tesla Model Y LR 4.8 seconds; Chevy Blazer EV 5.17 seconds; Ford Police Interceptor, 5.69 seconds; Chevy Tahoe 4WD, 7.94 seconds; and Dodge Durango AWD, 6.67 seconds.

Going from 0 to 100, the times ranged from 10 seconds for the Lightning to 20.05 seconds for the Tahoe.

“These cars are quick. It’s an instantaneous torque. We’re not waiting on a combustion engine to kick in,” Lisek stated.

The range, from the WLPD standpoint, is about 120 to 150 miles per day maximum. “Electric vehicles succeed in the lower speeds and not the constant speeds of going across the highway 70 mph constant, and with the Ford F150 Lightning and the Tesla Model Y, we have over 300 miles worth of range,” he said.

On efficiency, Lisek said they’re based off a miles-per-gas gallon equivalent.

“As we start comparing the electric ones to the gasoline, they’re almost four to five times as much more efficient than your gasoline counterparts, and that is going to be seen in the cost savings, especially with these operations,” he said.

A chart he provided stated that a Tesla Model Y LR will get 127-117 mpg equivalency; Ford F150 Lightning, 78-63 mpge; Dodge Durango AWD, 25-21 mpg; and Ford F150 4WD, 28-20 mpg. Actual mpg in police service will be less.

There are three different levels of chargers. Level 1 is 110 volts and a standard outlet, which will take 24 to 48 hours to charge, with a range per hour of 2 to 5 miles. Level 2 is 240 volts and charge time is 4 to 12 hours, with the range per hour of 10 to 40 miles. Level 3 is direct current fast charging at 480 volts and the range is 100 to over 200 miles in 15 to 30 minutes.

“So we’re going to see more and more of those (Level 3) as we develop here, and that’s what the GoEVIN program is all about,” Lisek said. To learn more from the Department of Energy, he directed everyone to the GoEVIN.org website.

Thill said MACOG has been fairly active in supporting local governments in pursuing grants for EVs and EV charging.

“We were just awarded last week a grant for about $1 million to put fast charging along U.S. 30 in Warsaw, so that will be something we’ll be funding over the next couple years through a federal competitive grant that we were awarded. And, in addition, a level 2 charging station for the public that was proposed to be located here just outside Town Hall. So look for those investments coming in the future,” she said.

On the specific grant the WLPD is applying for, she stated it can be used for about $100,000-$200,000 worth of energy efficiency or electrification projects. It’s due Feb. 2. The project must be implemented over two years, with some lead time on the vehicles, and the grant is a reimburseable grant meaning the WLPD spends the money and then is reimbursed by the state.

The grant is through the Indiana Office of Energy Development and is 100% funding, something Thill said is quite unusual. She hopes they will find out by summer or fall if the WLPD is awarded the grant. Most of the interest for the grants comes from local police departments, as well as streets, parks and highway departments. Nearby, towns applying include North Webster, Silver Lake and Pierceton.

The proposal developed for WLPD is for three electric vehicles, including one Ford F150 Lightning pickup truck and two Tesla Model Ys.

Using “conservative” figures, Thill said the three vehicles would get 20,000 miles a year; 66 mpg equivalent; use $0.17 kWh for electricity; and the total costs with EV charging stations install would be $170,377.25, all paid for by the grant if awarded. The only cost not included would be the equipment fitting.

Council members had some questions about battery life, insurance, efficiency in cold weather and reimbursing officers when they recharged their vehicles at home. Afterward, the council members said they were satisfied with the information provided.

“I just want to say thank you. I’ve been a huge advocate for a long time, and thanks for coming to educate everyone because you guys are being extremely conservative with what you’re putting together out there, too. … I just appreciate it,” Council Vice President Austin Reynolds stated.