CHARGE FOR THE BEV REVOLUTION

Ready or Not, Electric Cars Roll Into Showrooms
Kathryn Glass, October 18, 2010 (Fox Business)

"…After years of anticipation, the electric revolution is about to begin, with both Nissan and General Motors rolling out plug-in, electric vehicles before the end of the year, and Ford, Toyota and others automakers announcing their own electric cars are on the way in 2011…[W]hile there is a growing receptiveness among consumers to the idea of battery-powered personal transit, the creation of infrastructure, namely a network of charging stations, to support these vehicles is a challenge…

"Nissan and other auto manufacturers began working with community leaders in cities to develop a smooth permit and inspection processes for the installation of home-charging systems for these vehicles…[and] with urban leaders to determine logical locations for public and at-work charging stations…[C]ities and towns across the nation…[are getting] their communities electric-vehicle ready. As early-adopters begin to take to the streets with their new electric cars, it will be interesting to see how quickly the infrastructure can catch up and accommodate them."

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"The infrastructure starts at home. The current expectation by the vehicle manufacturers is for 80% of charging to be done at home, with the remainder occurring in public or while at the workplace…Since charging an electric car can take hours, overnight charging at home currently makes the most sense…[R]apid-charging…can fill a totally dead battery in under 30 minutes…

"Range anxiety, as its been dubbed, or the fear that the electric battery would die and leave passengers stranded without a charge, is what manufacturers hope to eliminate. The Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid model vehicle’s answer to range-anxiety comes in the form of an internal-combustion engine, which switches on after the vehicle’s 40 miles of range on electric power runs out. Nissan’s LEAF is all-electric, using no gasoline and can go up to 100 miles when fully charged. When the battery runs out, it must be recharged for up to 8 hours for a full-charge on a home-charger…"

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"…[R]apid chargers, which will be the electric vehicle’s equivalent to a filling station…are on the way. AeroVironment, a Monrovia, Calif.-based company which is partnering with Nissan to produce and install the Leaf’s home-charging systems said it has some fast-chargers in the works…ECOtality, a San Francisco-based firm, is also working to build a network of fast-charging stations…[I]t plans to start putting equipment into the ground in the last quarter of this year, and will have 15,000 ECOtality chargers in place by the end of the second quarter next year.

"ECOtality’s chargers can charge a LEAF in 26 minutes from zero, and the company estimates the average charge will take somewhere between 15 and 17 minutes, since most drivers won’t need to be charging an empty battery. The company also anticipates public charging to take off with a kind of viral appeal…[T]he company has already agreed to install charging systems in Best Buy’s parking lots as the retailer tries to attract early electric car adopters, a coveted demographic, and will install fast-chargers at BP and ARCO locations…[T]he Obama administration has set a goal for the installation of 20,000 charging stations nationwide by 2012…"