BP, Arco, Best Buy to install fast chargers for electric cars

It's no coincidence that the fast charger unveiled Wednesday is called Blink. The 480-volt electric-vehicle charger from the San Francisco firm ECOtality is capable of fully recharging a vehicle in 15 to 28 minutes.

"We think this is going to be the technology that will ultimately un-tether people from their garages with electric cars," said ECOtality Chief Executive Jonathan Read. 

Read said ECOtality will install 350 Blink DC Fast Chargers as part of its EV Project -- a $114.8-million grant the firm received in June from the U.S. Department of Energy to install 15,000 charging stations around the country. It will install another 150 fast chargers in conjunction with other corporate partners. All 500 should be installed by the end of 2011.

ECOtality's unveiling of its Blink charger coincides with another announcement. It has partnered with Best Buy to install 12 Blink chargers in the electronics retailer's parking lots, and with BP and Arco to install fast chargers at 45 gas stations.

"This is the first time Big Oil has invited electric vehicles to the table," said Read, who started working with BP about a year ago.

Details of specific locations haven't yet been released, but Read said at least 200 of the fast chargers will be installed in California, where "the climate and socioeconomic conditions are perfect for electric vehicles."

Though ECOtality will install some of its fast chargers in Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson and Tennessee, the majority are to be placed along Interstate 5, connecting Vancouver, Canada, to the Mexican border. Installation is set to begin in the first quarter of 2011.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo credit: ECOtality

Comments

[Adam]

Where is this vaporware? I have my car ready to charge but none of these promised stations are anywhere to be seen...

[Joseph L Cooke]

From where does Blink get its electricity?

[wowlfie]

Won't do you much good to have fast chargers installed if the infrastructure is destroyed in the bigger one due in a few months......

[Derby Sheldon]

Let's get 12 of them in every highway rest stop in California!!

[Jim Townes]

It sounds like a good start for the first generation!
We need to stop bashing everything in this country and start moving forward again.
28 minutes seems impractical but 15 minutes could work but eventually it would need to get even shorter.
I can see a future when charge price was based on electrical grid supply - cheaper at night or cheaper when wind farms are producing.

A mention of price of the charge would be a nice addition to this article and if no pricing info is available you could write that too Ms. Carpenter.

[Steve S.]

This is great news, and an important step forward for a cleaner future where America doesn't send oil money directly to our enemies.

For all of those who think global warming is a myth, visit vineyards in Europe where the farmers are horrified that the seasonal temperatures have changed. Grape growers in France already feel Global Warming. It's real, and it's already here.

[Benjamin Nead]

I live in Tucson and I'm considering the purchase of an electric (Lars . . . please take note.) There is a Best Buy in Casa Grande on I-10, geographically dead center between Tucson and Phoenix. If there is one location that will serve electric car consumers wanting to travel between these two large cities - which are about 100 miles from each other - this would be it. I've already petitioned Best Buy to consider putting one there.

[donnaleeold]

Suggested for reposting:

"A large part of the electric car projects are just a scam to get a certain group of VC's to control the lithium fields in Afghanistan! He who controls the electric cars controls the trillions of dollars of lithium revenues. It is just like oil all over again. The U.S. Department of Energy had one guy, who George Bush appointed running $25B worth of taxpayer money. He was working with 3 other guys in this small group who gave the money only to hooked n car companies who they could control the battery orders for and thus control the Lithium profits.

Dmitry Medvedev Came to Silicon Valley on June 22, 2010 and met with some of the venture capital companies that helped lobby the leverage for the electric car companies that just got funded. Only the car companies got funded that would play in this scheme.

Ener1 Battery Systems who got zillions of the dollars from DOE per the Loan Guarantee and ATVM Director Seward.

Is controlled in part by Russian “business man” Boris Zingarevich.

Who is best friends with the Russian Dmitry Medvedev, who arranged for all of Russia to extend current agreements signed with foreign automakers between 2005 and 2008 granting preferential duties on imported components for eight years in return for sourcing 30 percent of parts locally, according to the Industry and Trade Ministry. Once those arrangements expire, the carmakers would need to commit to buying 60 percent of components in Russia within six years to get more tax breaks.

Dmitry also appears to own interest in lots of Lithium processing and mining company technology in Russia which is pretty close to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is: the "Saudi Arabia’ of lithium". American geologists have discovered huge mineral deposits (Many $1 trillion of dollars worth) throughout Afghanistan, according to the New York Times. Lithium, gold, cobalt, copper, iron, among other valuable minerals are lying beneath what is already a war-torn country with little history with mining. Off and on over the decades, geologists—Soviet, Afghan, American—would investigate and chart some of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, only to put the work on hold as violent conflict erupted. Now, corruption, in-fighting between the central and district governments, foreign interests, and greater zeal from the Taliban might come into play to disrupt a potential economy evolving around these natural resources. With the Ministry of Mines, a Pentagon task force is now helping organize a way of handling the mineral development and bidding rights. How this unfolds socially, environmentally and politically should be interesting.

The New York Times reports: The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion. The two most prevalent minerals are copper and iron. Niobium, used for making superconducting steel, has also been found.

The effort to get that money for Ener1 was strong armed by Republican Sen. Richard G. Lugar, one of the deans of Congress, and his junior colleague, Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.

Richard Lugar and Lachlan Seward co-managed the Chrysler Bail-out.

Lachlan Seward was appointed by George Bush to run all of the tens of billions for the DOE ATVM and Loan Guarantee Programs. He & Matt Rogers gave most of the money away to their closely aligned interests and negated competing applicants. --

Another place near Afghanistan that there is lot's of Lithium is in Mongolia. Blum Capital has targeted the Lithium fields in Mongolia, said to be the second largest fields after Afghanistan in the region. Mongolia touches Russia so mining and equipment access could first take place there via Russia. China wants the Mongolian Lithium too so there is some two-way bidding that each country (Russia and China) do not know about. The owner of Blum Capital is Senator Feinsteins husband. She recently made him the Goodwill Ambassador to Mongolia.

Blum's wife, Senator Dianne Feinstein, has received scrutiny due to her husband's government contracts and extensive business dealings with China and her past votes on trade issues with the country. Blum has denied any wrongdoing, however. Critics have argued that business contracts with the US government awarded to a company (Perini) controlled by Blum may raise a potential conflict-of-interest issue with the voting and policy activities of his wife. URS Corp, which Blum had a substantial stake in, bought EG&G, a leading provider of technical services and management to the U.S. military, from The Carlyle Group in 2002; EG&G subsequently won a $600m defense contract. In 2009 it was reported that Blum's wife Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to provide $25 billion in taxpayer money to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a government agency that had recently awarded her husband's real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis, what the Washington Times called "a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.

Pan American Lithium Corp is led by Andrew Brodkey, CEO, President and Director – who has 25 years in the mining industry as a mining engineer, lawyer and senior executive with a focus on corporate legal and business development activities at major mining companies with an emphasis on Latin America, including Magma Copper Company and BHP Copper Inc. Mr. Brodkey also created the International Mining & Metals Group of CB Richard Ellis, Inc (“CBRE”). He and Mr. Blum work together on Lithium deals

" In 2009 the University of California Board of Regents, of which Blum is a member, voted to increase student registration fees (roughly the Univ. of California equivalent of tuition) by 32%. Shortly thereafter, Blum Capital Partners purchased additional stock in ITT Tech, a for-profit educational institution. These events suggest a conflict of interest on Blum's part. Also see: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2010/09/242044.php and http://www.floppingaces.net/2007/04/02/the-silence-on-the-feinstein-c/ and http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/21/senate-husbands-firm-cashes-in-on-crisis/

America "should" get all the Lithium before the competing empires get it but this private group of special interest manipulators should not get to take billions of dollars of taxpayer money to set themselves up with a personal arrangement at the expense of the taxpayers and the American companies they killed off by their manipulations. That is the bad thing that is happening here."

[Big Dude]

Sooo....what's the 'charge' for a charge??? Does it take 'charge cards'? When done does it say..'Fully charged'?and if not operating...'No charge'? I could go on.....

[Sam]

Dear RASta (October 13, 2010 at 06:05 PM), who said "The most practical use of an electric vehicle is for short distance, urban driving. "
-- I think the point of putting stations along I-5 is to demonstrate the feasibility of moving electric cars out of urban areas and into long-distance travel. Having the stations be along one major freeway will allow people to travel long distance on that freeway. If the initial stations were clustered in cities, no one would be willing to attempt a long distance drive.

[Fred Ekill O'Watt]

Time was when you had to fish around in your pocket to find a quarter and then search out a phone booth to make a call. These will be everywhere - infrastructure will be swift and easy. And I agree - don't put them at gas stations

[Thank you L.A. Times. You rock!!]

@ Paul Scott,

I think you mean gasoline retailers have not gotten a cent from you in the last 8 years. The rest of your vehicle, tires, fluids, plastic paneling, insulation etc etc. are oil derived. Also all the products you consume including the very same vehicle you drive was probably shipped from overseas on a conventional vessel and were transported to the dealer on a diesel car hauler etc etc. Also, all the products we consume are oil dependent for production and transportation. The fuel we put into our vehicle is only a small component of what drives our economy and we are more oil dependent than we would care to accept or realize. On the other hand, we have to start somewhere and electric vehicles is a good start.

[Anna]

I guess in the liberal world the electricity simply comes out of an outlet..right? I guess you now wont protest when the sane want to build atomic plants to generate the power to fuel your feel good cars.

[Lars Pettersen]

My company Go Electric will also be installing charger systems in Arizona. Also we have a great line of electric cars! Lars Pettersen

[Paul Scott]

OK, this is both good and bad.

It's very good in that the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi iMiEV will be able to charge with this DC charger. Other EVs will certainly do so in the future.

The 30 minute time is fantastic since the range for the car is already 100 miles, so this allows for regional driving to San Diego, and for those who have a bit more time, San Francisco. Anything more than that gets too long.

The federal money spent on these chargers is warranted, but the installation at gas stations is abhorrent. BP and ARCO are guilty of massive environmental destruction, and their gas stations are truly the last place anyone would want to hang for 20-30 minutes. Worst of all, as someone who has driven an EV for 8 years and feels very good that the oil companies have not received one cent from me in all that time, the last thing I want to do is PAY the oil companies for kWh!

Please! Find a restaurant, coffee shop, grocery store, hell, install one at a church! I'd rather give any of those entities my money for kWh than an oil company!

[RASta]

Placing the charging stations along I-5 makes almost no sense. The most practical use of an electric vehicle is for short distance, urban driving. I suspect that if private industry, motivated for the technology to succeed, were in charge of the project, all of the charging stations would go to cities. Leave it to the Department of Energy to place them in the middle of nowhere.

[AngelsDucksFan]

15 minutes isn't too bad, but 28 is pushing it. I am glad to see that we are indeed making progress when it comes to ending our dependence on oil (whether it be produced in the United States or Saudi Arabia). Even if global warming is a myth (it is not, in my humble opinion), using less and less oil is an intrinsic good for just being able to breathe in fresh air and be able to walk in downtown LA and being able to see the sky above you.