According to an article in the Hartford Courant, Northeast Utilities is looking for government funding to install a network of plug-in hybrid charging stations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Connecticut-based NU announced plans on Tuesday to install 575 stations over the next two years. Approximately half of the funding for the plan will come from a nearly $700,000 grant from the US Department of Energy that will be decided in June.
Their plan is similar to the "green highway" plan in Oregon and California where charging stations, as well as biodiesel, ethanol and other forms of alternative energy will be available along the I-5 corridor.
The NU plan has been embraced by local officials as a necessary catalyst to drive change in electric automotives. They hope that consumers will gain confidence by seeing the system in place.
Showing posts with label plug-in station. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plug-in station. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The future of the electric car (Pt. 3)
It was announced Monday that London mayor Boris Johnson is looking towards adopting "hire an electric car" idea from France.
London is already planning to implement a similar idea--but with bicycles--in 2010, which is also inspired by a French program, Vélib. Both programs work much like Zipcar; there are bicycles or electric cars available at set places around the city and users pay a fee to drive them around. They could be returned to any station.
Johnson has created a task-force called the London Electric Vehicle Partnership to encourage automakers to develop more efficient electric cars. They are also studying the charging infrastructure in the city and beginning tests.
In France, the program is set to begin at the end of 2009 with 700 pick-up points throughout Paris.
London is already planning to implement a similar idea--but with bicycles--in 2010, which is also inspired by a French program, Vélib. Both programs work much like Zipcar; there are bicycles or electric cars available at set places around the city and users pay a fee to drive them around. They could be returned to any station.
Johnson has created a task-force called the London Electric Vehicle Partnership to encourage automakers to develop more efficient electric cars. They are also studying the charging infrastructure in the city and beginning tests.
In France, the program is set to begin at the end of 2009 with 700 pick-up points throughout Paris.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The future of the electric car (Pt. 2)
Another organization is working towards the goal of electric cars as well. Repower America is an organization promoting the goals originally conceived by Al Gore in a July 2008 speech.
Like Project Get Ready, Repower America recognizes the difficult first steps to making electric cars a viable option. However, rather than work on consumer confidence, Repower America is directly tackling the infrastructure necessary for plug-in electric cars.
The basic goal of Repower America is to convert to 100% renewable energy in America in 10 years. One of the main tenets of this goal is to completely revamp and modernize the electrical grid, which would include adding access for plug-in electric cars. Revamping the grid is necessary to take full advantage of renewable energy sources, as many operate with peak and low hours (solar, wind, etc) and require energy storage and transfer capabilities not currently possible.
As advocates from Repower America work to make their goal happen, systems will be designed to conduct the necessary transfers and storage of energy, which will impact how electric car owners receive and pay for the energy they use.
Like Project Get Ready, Repower America recognizes the difficult first steps to making electric cars a viable option. However, rather than work on consumer confidence, Repower America is directly tackling the infrastructure necessary for plug-in electric cars.
The basic goal of Repower America is to convert to 100% renewable energy in America in 10 years. One of the main tenets of this goal is to completely revamp and modernize the electrical grid, which would include adding access for plug-in electric cars. Revamping the grid is necessary to take full advantage of renewable energy sources, as many operate with peak and low hours (solar, wind, etc) and require energy storage and transfer capabilities not currently possible.
As advocates from Repower America work to make their goal happen, systems will be designed to conduct the necessary transfers and storage of energy, which will impact how electric car owners receive and pay for the energy they use.
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