By Zachary Shahan •
December 20, 2009
Electric vehicles (EVs) are great, but better if you are not charging them from coal-powered electricity. Solar-powered charging stations are beginning to pop up now to address this situation. Dell headquarters in Texas planted some “solar trees” recently to charge their employees’ EVs, Chicago got its first solar-powered EV charging station in April, and now, New York just got its first one as well thanks to sustainable energy company Beautiful Earth Group.
There may be more on the horizon as well. EVs are looking to boom across the world.
As various countires and cities around the world are rolling out policies with regards to the integration of charging stations that would allow for greater use of electric and hybrid vehicles, it’s becoming more apparent that perhaps the development of vehicular technology is moving substantially faster than might be realistic.
The process of turning California’s Highway 101 into an electric roadway is beginning, and for a short period of time the charging stations that will be installed can be used for free. Beginning in October, Solarcity will be installing vehicle charging stations alogn Highway 101 between San Francisco and Los Angeles in order to reward those who have already made a move to adopt a cleaner lifestyle with clean technology in their vehicles.
By Zachary Shahan •
August 19, 2009
In recent posts on Planetsave and EcoWorldy about moratoria on soya and cattle products related to Amazon destruction, it was mentioned that McDonald’s is helping to save the Amazon. With the company also delving into green building, progressive energy saving software, and charging stations for electric vehicles, is McDonald’s a green company?
By Greg Nickels •
July 10, 2009
Editor’s Note: This is the first contribution to gas2.org by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Mayor Nickels is President of the US Conference of Mayors and was awarded the E-Visionary Award by the World Electric Vehicle Association. For more, see electriccarrace.org.
When it comes to electric transportation, Seattle has a significant advantage.
Our city-owned utility, Seattle City Light, was the first large electric utility in the country to become carbon-neutral using hydropower, innovative energy efficiency solutions, and carbon offsets. When you are driving on City Light electricity, you are truly driving a zero emission vehicle.
As a new generation of electric vehicles prepare to enter the market, cities along the West Coast from Vancouver B.C. to San Diego are taking steps to get plug-in ready. Because of Seattle’s partnership with Nissan, we will be leading the way and expect to be one of the first markets in the country to see Nissan’s highway-capable EV for sale in fall 2010.
By Elaina Medina •
July 8, 2009
Editor’s Note: This is a guest contribution by Elaina Medina of Portland General Electric.
We are anticipating a large turnout at this year’s “EV Awareness Day” on Saturday, July 11, at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Ore. Portland General Electric is proud to sponsor this annual event hosted by the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association.
The PGE team will be on hand to show off its new PGE plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and talk to attendees about our network of more than a dozen charging stations we are installing across the Portland-metro area and Salem.
By Allison Boyer •
July 8, 2009
According to reports, McDonald’s is beginning to explore electric car charging stations at their restaurants. Starting on July 14, one of their locations, in Cary, North Carolina, will give drivers the option to charge their cars as they eat.
Says Environmental Leader,
The charging stations feature:
- Secure, authorized access to charging, which helps eliminate energy theft and cord theft.
- Networked ability for drivers to find and navigate to open charging stations.
- Control functions
[...]
Diepenbeek, Belgium - On June 2, 2009, 365-Energy announced that the Katholieke High School of Limburg (KHLim) will begin deploying ChargePoint(TM) Network charging stations from the infrastructure manufacturer Coulomb Technologies as part of the first European Clean Mobility Center in Belgium.
Coulomb’s international partner 365-Energy will provide the charging stations and manage the ChargePoint Network for subscribers.
KHLim produces its own green energy through wind, heat and solar as part of its CO2 neutral area. The ChargePoint charge stations will be connected to KHLim’s own power grid, which will supply the necessary energy.
The Rampart Casino in Summerlin, Nevada, has taken the first steps toward a more Electric Vehicle (EV) friendly community. With the installation of an EV charging station, the Rampart became the first casino property to accommodate EVs, whose charge station was acquired in a business deal with Coulomb Technolgies.
If you build it, they will come…or not. Since the addition of the EV charge station, the Rampart Casino has seen limited numbers of Electric Vehicles. Very limited.
“We only have one patron with an electric car, that I know of,” said John Shaughnessy, a casino security guard. “Actually, I’ve never seen it.”
David Garth, a valet for the casino since 1999, confirmed Shaughnessy’s statement, saying that he’s never seen an EV pull up. “But,” he said, “we get plenty of hybrids.”
Amsterdam - On May 27, 2009, 365-Energy Group announced a pilot-program that could make Amsterdam the leader an Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Europe.
By 2012, the city of Amsterdam plans to be home to 200 electric vehicle charging stations. These 200 stations, courtesy of US-based Coulomb Technologies, are expected to serve 10,000 cars by the year 2015.
Excitement is high over the two-year public demonstration program, which will use 45 Coulomb Technologies‘ ChargePoint(TM) Networked Charging Stations as their source of fuel. Richard Lowenthall, CEO of the California-based company, announced that “the city of Amsterdam will have the largest network of smart charging stations in Europe for fleet and consumer charging.” He went on to say that, “Coulomb is providing an inclusive open architecture so that all electric vehicle owners in Amsterdam can easily make the switch from gasoline to electricity as a fuel.”
By Clayton B. Cornell •
February 25, 2009
Last week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom reported for us that the city had just installed 3 charging stations for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Yesterday, the News & Observer reported that Raleigh, N.C. plans to install eight plug-in charging stations over the next few months, under a program called Project Get Ready.
Like the San Francisco-based program, drivers will access the charging stations through key-cards. In Raleigh, this means simple credit card access at a cost of about 2.5 cents per mile, while the SF-based program uses chargers provided by Coulomb Technologies at no cost, but are only available to members of the car-sharing programs City CarShare and Zipcar.
