At the New York International Auto Show in early April, General Motors Corp. showed off its Chevy Volt electric car on which GM is pinning much of its future. Ford Motor Co. also displayed its Ford Focus Electric that is to follow in 2012.
By then, Fairfield County commuters may have an option for recharging electric vehicles running low on juice.
A task force in Westport is considering adding recharging outlets for 20 electric cars at the Saugatuck rail station on Metro-North, which would be powered by solar panels installed on the roof of the station. The town hopes to secure federal funding to cover the $300,000 price of the project.
In Hartford meanwhile, the General Assembly is considering a bill that would establish an “electric vehicle infrastructure support account” within the state”™s general fund that would provide grants to businesses seeking to upgrade infrastructure to support the use of electric vehicles.
Even as lawmakers considered the bill, a Northeast Utilities executive cautioned the state may be moving too quickly, given ongoing work by an electric vehicle infrastructure council convened by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, which is not slated to make recommendations until September.
“We support the intentions of this bill and we have been an advocate for promoting the introduction of electric (vehicles) in Connecticut,” said Richard Soderman, director of legislative policy and strategy at NU subsidiary Connecticut Light & Power, and a member of the governor”™s council. “That said, this proposed bill might be slightly ahead of its time.”
One year ago, Northeast Utilities announced it was seeking $700,000 in federal funding to cover half the cost of creating nearly 600 charging stations for electric vehicles in the region over the next two years, located at public venues, commercial sites and even residences.
NU has not provided any follow-up information on its plans since January; CEO Charles Shivery also addressed the company”™s plans in a conference call with investment analysts the previous November.
“It”™s not going to happen today; it”™s not going to happen tomorrow; in fact, we don’t expect to see electric cars being available to us until the end of 2010,” Shivery said. “It is an item that”™s there. It is not in the five-year plan. We”™re beginning to look at what the technical issues are around it and how do we position ourselves, not only to make sure that New England receives electric vehicles when they”™re available to us, but also that we resolve some of the technical issues around how do you charge them, when do you charge them, what the grid issues are around that, the grid management issues.”
As fast as GM, Ford and other companies are moving to get electric cars on the road, startups are emerging to help drivers and companies with the infrastructure issues they will face. Campbell, Calif.-based Coulomb Technologies Inc. raised $14 million in financing in February, as it sells charging stations as well as applications for mobile devices that would help drivers locate the nearest public charging point; and software for utilities to bill consumers for recharging their vehicle batteries at a public access point. Last month, the company announced the first installation of electric vehicle chargers at a U.S. multifamily residential complex in Dallas. And in Austin, Whole Foods Market Inc. installed a Coulomb electric-car charging station at its flagship store, without immediately revealing any plans for rolling out stations at stores elsewhere.
