GETTING READY FOR THE EV

Electric Vehicles Charge Ahead in US; Construction to begin on thousands of charging stations for 'clean' cars
Tom Banse, 17 March 2010 (Voice of America)

"What's billed as the biggest rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure in the world is about to begin in the United States.

"Urban planners are deciding where to locate more than 11,000 charging stations in 11 major cities. They want those stations up and running when the first mass-market electric cars from Nissan and General Motors go on sale at the end of this year…Last year, the Department of Energy awarded $100 million to eTec, an electric transportation research and development firm, to build electric vehicle charging networks in five states. Now is when the rubber meets the road, or more precisely, construction begins…"

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"…[eTec is installing] more than 2,000 electric car chargers in the greater Seattle area in western Washington, and another 2,000 at homes and public places in four Oregon cities. They'll be near shopping centers, fast food restaurants and movie theaters…[eTec] has partnered with Nissan…[and] wants 900 drivers in each state to let researchers from the Idaho National Lab monitor their driving and charging behaviors…Lessons learned about consumer preferences on placement, features and payment options could guide the eventual national rollout of charging infrastructure.

"The Nissan Leaf and the plug-in Chevy Volt are supposed to hit U.S. dealerships late this year. They're the first wave of mass production electric cars…[N]ew owners will have no trouble finding a power station…Nissan will sell and lease the car and battery as a package…"

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"Other companies and countries are trying different business models to lure consumers into electric cars. Denmark is one nation on the cutting edge. A California-based company called Better Place is working with Denmark's biggest utility to build the charging network there. It will offer battery swap-out stations, a feature not included initially in the United States…When the system starts up next year, Danish electric vehicle drivers will pay a monthly subscription to access the battery charging network. They could also pay by the mile.

"But will consumers go for any of this? Vehicle researcher Valerie Karplus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says the car market is big enough to support numerous niches…Many policymakers, as well as drivers, find the prospect of a zero-emissions ride electrifying."