L.A. gets wired with new electric-car charging stations
I'll say it -- 2010 is the year of the electric car. The Chevrolet Volt will be out in November, and the Nissan Leaf comes one month later. Supporting those cars is a recharging infrastructure that is just beginning to take shape.
About 1,500 of the 4,600 electric vehicle charging stations being installed across the country in the coming year by the Campbell, Calif., company Coulomb will be in California. The stations are part of a $37-million project called ChargePoint America, funded in part with a $15-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Check out the video to see how these new stations will work.
-- Susan Carpenter
Video: Jeff Amlotte / Los Angeles Times
she paid $1 for $.13 worth of electricity? I guess.
Posted by: stan | May 18, 2011 at 10:38 AM
They will trickle in then either boom or bust, probably bust. They are trading convenint and easy to transfer gas to depending on utilities and existing electrical production, putting a burdon on the existing grid system. Since there has not been any new nuke plants in the past 30 years and the greenies hate coal, where is this electric energy to charge these new cars going to come from?
As a combination of electrical engineer, electric utility worker and electrical contractor I see the challanges and problems of the electric car as a main vehicle. If they are modified golf carts to be driven short distances to work or the store they will be just fine and I will shut up and spend the rest of my life running wires from panels to garages and changing transformers and possibly seeing new metering setups (road taxes can't be tacked onto your home electric bill... yet).
Posted by: stan | May 18, 2011 at 10:31 AM
And why not? The technology has been ready for years and finally the consumers have clearly voiced that they too are ready to invest. Now all we need is clean source of electricity for those cars- solar power anyone?
Posted by: California Solar Engineering | July 20, 2010 at 09:47 AM
What an awesome product. I definitely think it's the wave of future. One question: after we lessen our dependency on oil, how will we lessen our dependency on energy and electricity to charge these things? Solar energy is the answer, and companies like ENVISION SOLAR are going to revolutionize the way people think and charge their life, starting with automobile. Envision is committed to provide solar power charging stations in PARKING LOTS that are most convenient.
See some plans in these short videos.....http://envisionsolar.com/video/
Posted by: robert tony | July 01, 2010 at 03:30 PM
Like all great advances in the American way of life, a little government vision can go a long way. The private sector just can't go it alone. Remember the national highway system? How about rural electrification? Electrification of the transportation system will benefit us all.
Go Obama!
Posted by: Jim Blaisdell | June 30, 2010 at 05:28 PM
Trust me the reality is that I am definably for better and cleaner fuel and energy sources. But this goes back to Subsidized Public Transportation. Why are the American Tax Payers on the hook for the charging stations which will be used exclusively by owners of electric vehicles. Like everything else coming out of government this is wrong, and if you check probably illegal.
California http://www.nightingaleforgovernor.com/
Nevada http://www.ginoforgovernor.com/
Posted by: Bob Bishop | June 30, 2010 at 10:58 AM