North Carolina apparently plans to take the initiative to position itself as a state that welcomes plug-in electric cars.
Utility companies Duke Energy and Progress Energy are pledging $3 million dollars over 5 year to go in part towards building “a statewide network of charging pods at parking lots, gas stations and truck stops.”
This may be the first steps towards a robust enterprise of charging pods, akin to parking meters, eventually everywhere across the U.S. and other nations.
Source (Citizen-Times)
This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Charging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Mar 15th, 2008 (6:33 am)Not a bad start! The drizzle is soon to become a downpour.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (6:39 am)All they need now is a unique identification system to allow you to pay for parking and recharging at the same time, preferably through a monthly bill.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (7:30 am)Hi Juk,
What you describe already exists in the form of Elektromotive’s Elektrobay :
http://www.elektromotive.co.uk/index2.html
These are installed here in Westminster Borough of London, and are rolling out in very limited numbers elsewhere in the UK.
The user interface is very simple: You place your coded key-fob next to the unit then it displays your registration plate and pops a hatch open to reveal the the electricl outlet for you to re-charge. You put your plug in and close the hatch (which then can’t be re-opened without a coded fob). The system monitors how many kWh you use and your account can be appropriately debited each month, although at present all EV drivers in the scheme are paying a fixed annual fee
I wish other councils in the UK were as forward-thinking: I have been fighting (and failing) for 2 years to get any kind support for EVs from my own council. I often feel like I’m p*ssing in the wind, but I’ll continue until I succeed even though that’s probably not the kind of drizzle Texas (post 1) wants to see as a downpour!
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Mar 15th, 2008 (8:08 am)Hi pete k
In Stockholm the Swedish capital we are going to bulid up a network all over the city for plug-in/electric cars, with start this year.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (9:08 am)Hi Rolle,
I visit Stockholm fairly often – will keep an eye out!
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Mar 15th, 2008 (10:46 am)Hi pete k
Very welcome to Stockholm and I hope you vill see some electric cars on the street.
Stockholm have the goal to be one of the cleanest cities in the world.
Maybe you can read some Swedish, here is the pressrelease from the electric net owner Fortum.
http://www.fortum.se/news_section_item.asp?path=19923;22344;22361;22351;21466;44367
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Mar 15th, 2008 (12:25 pm)I can’t imagine a sillier place to locate an outlet than at a gas station, or truckstop. They should be placed where people generally can be expected to be parked for a considerable amount of time – that would include parking lots, office buildings, shopping malls, grocery stores, etc.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (1:54 pm)Who would pull into a gas station for a couple hours to just "hang out"?
What does the Volt take to charge? Standard 110V plug right? So it’s as easy as intalling plugs and putting them on there own breaker so you don’t loose them all when there is too much of a load.
Keep an extention cord in your trunk and you’ll be fine.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (2:29 pm)Plugs at MOTELS would be the most useful for cross-country drivers. In many places such as Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and other frigid states there are already plugs at almost every motel for engine block-heaters. Those could easily be used for PHEVs.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (2:49 pm)Don’t forget highway rest stops. In the case of the Volt, depending on which batt they choose, A123’s cells will be able to quick charge at much higer voltage. So if DOT rest stops have these you might be able to plug in to say 300V, grab lunch and drive off with near a full tank of electrons.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (3:00 pm)Standardizing the outlet is the next problem. 110v is a standard, but will they allow a standard household outlet? 220, which you need for fast charging, is a nightmare. There are at least 6 different "standard" 220 outlets; none of which are acceptable to the standards organization for plugging in an EV. Not to mention the very proprietary inductance or paddle charger connections such as the one the EV1 required.
Beats me why a connection suitable for an RV isn’t acceptable for an EV.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (3:00 pm)Along with battery, it is important to design a mechanism to quick charge it. All the battery should come with two ways of charging, 110 volts, to charge at home, when parked at home. Its okay if it take all night to charge it, also a quick charge maybe with a higher voltage at gas stations / rest area / truck stops etc to charge in about 10 Mts. I don’t know how this came be done, but this is what needs to happen.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (3:55 pm)#11 I agree a standard charging outlet is vital, otherwise uptake will be slower than needs to be, with some people sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which format wins.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (4:34 pm)Standardization would be nice but not necessary. Adapters you could keep in your trunk like they make for 110/220 etc. would solve the problem. The charging station would probably have them available for most cars.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (4:49 pm)#9 Blacksun wrote:
I totally agree … major cities in at least three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) have block-heater plugs at most motels, commercial and public parking lots. Operators may need to rethink how they want to allow people to "hook up" and charge their EV/REV – but early adopters may be able to recharge for free!
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Mar 15th, 2008 (4:56 pm)Having them available at apartments and condo buildings, begins to open it up to the remaining 20 something percent of car owners, who don’t have access to a plug.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (6:13 pm)I think George K has it right. The most important place to put new plugs is where people park overnight, i.e. street parking in residential areas, where most people do not have garages.
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Mar 15th, 2008 (8:57 pm)Maybe the most important place to charge is at work.
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Mar 17th, 2008 (9:10 am)Rest stops, gas stations??????
Obviously we have a long way to go in changing the thinking about EV’s.
Who goes to any of those places for more than 30 minutes.
Let’s start with all parking meters, than a credit card system in shopping mall, wall-mart, and every other shopping place. Then all goverment buildings, schools, college campuses……
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Mar 17th, 2008 (12:33 pm)Outstanding.
Obviously the first step on a journey of 1000 miles, but a big one.
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Mar 17th, 2008 (1:29 pm)Here in Oregon, we are concerned about setting up
charging pods for higher voltages. thanks for your
comments, they will help us in our efforts.
One thing pops up as a concern, in law suit areas
you might want to put a tripping hazard sign over
the cord.
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Mar 18th, 2008 (2:52 pm)Wireless charger anyone?
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Mar 19th, 2008 (12:32 pm)I am presently installing solar roof panels on my home. I need the Volt battery charging Kwh requirements for my daily round trip commute of 50 miles. I plan to provide for this add-on solar capacity at a later date.
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