California City To Change Building Codes To Allow Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Over the last several years, California has seen a huge upswing in the number of electric vehicles purchased, and with it a desire for more infrastructure to accommodate owners’ home recharging needs.

In California, the City of Palo Alto’s city council is unanimously supporting a proposal to change the city’s building code to require new homes to be pre-wired to support 240v level 2 chargers. Photo courtesy of Treehugger.com.

This is an increasingly important issue for the state, which found in a 2012 study conducted by the California Center for Sustainable Energy that about 1,000 new plug-in vehicles were being sold every month, and in total, Californians owned more than 12,000 plug-in vehicles at the time of the study (roughly 35 percent of all plug-in vehicles in the United States).

And while so far buying an electric vehicle has come with a lot of rebates and incentives for the vehicle itself, there really hasn’t been much cost help given for other needs, like home infrastructure.

A major stumbling block for many buyers wanting to buy an electric vehicle has been the cost of installing a home charging system. Grist reported that in Palo Alto, Calif., “to wire a new house for an electric vehicle charger, it costs under $200 – a quarter of the price tag for installing a charger at an existing home.”

To address this issue, Palo Alto’s city council is working on an ordinance that would require all newly constructed single family homes to include the necessary circuitry for electric vehicle chargers.

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Tesla Model S Reviewed By Consumer Reports As ‘Top Scoring Car’ In 100-Point Rating Test

Tesla Model S. Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors.

In its latest review of nearly 300 vehicles, Consumer Reports rated the all-electric Tesla Model S as the “top scoring car” with a rating of 99 out of 100 points.

To give you an overview, the Model S is a large luxury hatchback which seats five or seven if you include the rear-facing jump seats for kids up to 10 years old.

The sedan can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds, and is equipped with an 85 kilowatt-hour battery which can allow the vehicle to “travel between 180 and 225 miles per charge, depending on the outside temperature,” said Consumer Reports.

Tesla said the Model S can plug into most 240-volt outlets, standard 120-volt wall outlets, and public stations.

Consumer Reports found that “with Tesla’s optional High Power Wall Connector, its takes about five hours to charge. On a standard 240-volt electric car charger, it would take about 12 hours,” with Tesla adding that a 50 percent charge could be achieved in as little as 30 minutes at Tesla Supercharge station.”

Tesla also takes a sleek modern approach to its fueling system, by having the fuel door hidden. The company explains that as you approach the driver’s side taillight, holding a connector, you press the button and a triangle opens to reveal the small charge port. Another great feature of the Model S is its regenerative brakes.

For overall performance, Consumer Reports said that, “In all, the Model S worked better than we expected, especially being the first homegrown model from a brand-new car company. The Tesla Model S fell short of a perfect score in our testing for one simple reason. You can’t jump in any time you want, and drive to absolutely any point on the map at a moment’s notice.”

The company is working to address these issues by increasing its number of Supercharge stations that are exclusively for Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports added that “unfortunately, they will not charge other EVs. The connector is unique to Tesla and, well, Tesla foots the bill for the juice, which mostly justifies this proprietary arrangement.”

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California Adding Five New EV Charging Stations Across LA Transit Spots To Spur Combined Use

The LA Metro Authority has just installed five new electric vehicle charging stations across its transit rail system as part of a pilot program designed to encourage electric vehicle owners to combine driving with public transportation.

Los Angeles electric vehicle charging station. Photo courtesy of Luskin Center for Innovation

The transportation authority hopes that EV drivers will see the stations as a convenience that allows them to “be able to charge their vehicles while using the Metro to run errands, go to events” or commute to work.

This is the first time that the transportation authority has directly incorporated EV charging stations into the transit system. The new charging stations are located in: Union Station, Sierra Madre Villa Station, Willow Station, El Segundo Station, and Universal City Station.

The transportation authority said the locations were selected because of their proximity to major transportation hubs and busy traffic arteries. In addition, they were selected to encourage the use of the transit system – and its Park and Ride lots – from different regions headed to and from Downtown LA.

The charging stations all incorporate the SAE J1772 (North American Automotive Industry Standard) plug. These locations consist of 208/240V 30amp Level 2 charging spots capable of providing up to 7.2KW of power to each vehicle.

All of the newer model electric cars – including the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Ford Focus Electric, Toyota Prius Plug-in, and Mitsubishi iMiEV – will be able to plug into the Level 2 charge spots.

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NYS Governor To Install Hundreds Of New Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Statewide

With high and unpredictable gas prices becoming a constant in New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo has set plans in motion to install about 325 new electric vehicle charging stations across the state.

Electric vehicle charging stations. Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com.

Cuomo has awarded $4.4 million in state funding to be distributed among 10 facilitators – comprising of companies, municipalities, and state-operated power and transportation authorities – to make the installations.

“With New Yorkers facing higher prices at the pump, the state is stepping up to make owning an electric vehicle an affordable and convenient option,” said Cuomo.

The governor’s office hopes that an infrastructure of electric charging stations will help reduce oil reliance in the state and promote the sale of electric cars, trucks, and other vehicles.

Transportation currently makes up about three-fourths of New York State’s oil consumption, and nearly 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The state’s electric vehicle charging station project is part of a joint effort by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The NYSERDA is also planning to manage a $10 million fund that will offer vouchers of up to $20,000 per vehicle for the purchase of electric commercial trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

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Nissan LEAF Pilot Program Taxi Cabs Expected To Appear On New York City Streets Next Month

As part of New York City’s Taxi of Tomorrow program, next month Nissan will be working with the city and taxi owners on a pilot program to study the use of electric vehicles as taxis.

Nissan LEAF NYC Taxi Cab. Photo courtesy of auto.sanook.com.

Nissan will provide six fully-electric LEAFs and charging stations at no cost to taxi owners or the city to test the electrified taxi fleet.

These cars will be put into normal taxi service (with existing taxicab medallions) and allow Nissan, the city, the taxi industry, and riders to see how electric vehicles work as taxis.

Each fleet participant will receive two LEAF vehicles to use with one medallion. Each LEAF will only be used during a single shift, so while one vehicle is in service, the other will be charging to maintain fleet operating time.

Nissan told participants at the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission that the distance they drive on a single charge will depend on several factors including: weather, accessories, and driving habits.

Nissan told drivers, “This means that you will need to stop mid-shift to recharge the battery, and depending on the charging station this can take anywhere from fifteen to several hours.”

Depending on conditions, the LEAF can have a driving range of between 62 to 138 miles on a single charge.

To find a charging station, Nissan said that every LEAF comes equipped with a technology called CARWINGS, which is an in-car telematics system that will show information including the battery power and charging stations. It will also allow the driver to download a charge point app that will show nationwide charging stations.

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