Sunday, July 24, 2011

New charging stations will soon give electric cars freedom to roam

by Bill Sheets, Herald Writer
  • While more than 50 charging stations are available to the public in the Seattle-Tacoma area, only a handful are up and running in areas north
  • By the end of the year, the Schnells or anyone else with a chargeable vehicle will be able to drive an "electric highway" to Canada, Oregon or across Stevens Pass without having to worry about running out of juice.
  • The state's new stations will be located 40 to 60 miles apart.
  • ECOtality has built more than 400 charging stations so far in people's homes in the central Puget Sound area, in addition to the 50-plus public outlets, said Rich Feldman, Pacific Northwest regional manager for ECOtality.
  • Most of the stations will be located at private retail locations such as shopping malls, where users sometimes may shop, eat or have coffee while charging up
  • Almost all of the public stations operating now are free of charge.
  • How to find charging stations
The free electricity part ought to get somebody's attention.  These type of vehicle work best in mild climates, such as in Seattle, Washington.  Houston gets pretty hot, and the air conditioner would run the battery down too fast.

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