Posted on 07/04/2010 9:18:53 AM PDT by Willie Green
Dozens of electric-vehicle charging stations will spring up around Charlotte by this time next year, shortly after the first plug-in consumer electric vehicles hit the streets. Duke Energy is advising local governments and employers that want to install charging stations. Duke expects about 100 to be ready in its N.C. service territory, most in the Charlotte area, by next summer. Sixty to 80 public stations will go up in its S.C. territory.
The research hub of Raleigh expects about 200 public charging stations. The charging network, to be built over the next two years, will turn the Triangle into a Southeastern testing ground for electric cars. Now, there are fewer than a dozen public recharge outlets in North Carolina.
The stations - expected in parking decks and shopping centers and at curbsides - are the first of about 350 planned throughout the state, financed largely by the federal stimulus. The pods will be concentrated in urban areas, the preferred habitat of electric cars, which are mostly used for short commutes and quick errands.
The first recharging stations will be activated toward the end of this year, coinciding with the planned commercial release of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric car and the Nissan Leaf all-electric auto. Expected price estimates on the vehicles range from $32,000 to $40,000, and buyers would get a $7,500 federal tax credit.
By the time the statewide network of charging stations is complete in late 2012, most of the nation's automakers are expected to be selling electric models.
Good. Next time I’m through there, I’ll stop and recharge my cell phone.
Well, if wind and solar can’t power the grid, and they can’t, the coal will come from another country. Indonesia or Canada or Australia.
Let’s see you put a couple of 250 pounders into that thing.
Huge waste of energy and money.
Its unsustainable.
More waste on a foolish product that very few can afford.
What are you talking about? You're not supposed to think ahead and take care of yourself!
The government will be there to take care of you in any emergency. Sit back and relax....you're in good hands.....
Even the vehicles with the worst fuel economy can get about 250 to 400 miles out of a tank of gas and take only 10 minutes (if that) to completely refuel.
I've seen Slurpee cups bigger'n that!
I once in an emergency had to unplug an outdoor Pepsi machine to charge my cell phone. I wonder if this will work on an electric car?
The Chevy Microvolt is said to have a small gas engine that can be used to charge the batteries, or run the car once you’re past the 40 mile electric-only range (the gas engine only drives a generator). So, yes, in that case, you could still store emergency fillups in your garage.
It remains to be seen what performance/operational penalties you will endure in the gas-electric mode. Electric-only 0-60 acceleration is said to be about 8.5 seconds. With a full charge, and full tank, range is said to be about 300 miles. Adequate, but not great.
Based on what they did with hybrids, the tax credit will be phased out once a certain number of cars are sold. But, as we all know, federal tax policy can be unpredictable.
Hopefully the powerlines they are hooking up these toys to have all been upgraded
Not to mention you don’t need to go anywhere during a power outage
“Dozens of electric-vehicle charging stations will spring up around Charlotte “
Dozens, I tell you, dozens! And with multi hour recharge times, that will require dozens of parking lots and/or looooong lines.
Hydroelectric.... I think.
“What generates the electricity in Charlotte?”
More than 50% of the electricity in N.C. is from coal and nuclear!
HEHEHEHE...Cars running on Coal & Nuclear!
Somewhere on YouTube there's a video of a guy who converted an old station wagon to wood-burning energy. I kid you not.
Taxes will go up. Same thing here happened in my town...they’re jacking up property taxes about 2% because the stimulus money they spent on mass transit last year is gone. There’s no thought given to discontinuing the transit program in question, or cutting another program to free up the money, of course. And of course, no thought given to why it was a bad idea to spend the stimulus money given that they HAD to know a tax increase would be necessary to fund it in the years after 2009-10.
}:-)4
I never thought the people of NC were such saps.
I expect this kind of foolishness in Ca.
I guess this is why we had to close all the libraries down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.