When Should Property Owners Install Electric Car Charging Stations

A year ago, I never got questions about electric charges. Today, I get several inquiries from our clients each week. When a client asks whether or not they should install a charger, I first ask, "What are you trying to accomplish?" If they say, "I want to meet demand and maybe make some money," I explain that there is no demand yet, and the only reason they should install a charger today is for the PR purposes of being a first adopter. Or perhaps the client can take advantage of the tax breaks before they expire. I go on to say, "You do not want to install more than a couple chargers, but you may want to build in the infrastructure to expand later on if it takes off."

A recent article "Charging Stations Multiply But Electric Cars Are Few" in the Wall Street Journal explains why electric chargers are multiplying much faster than the plug-in vehicles that can use them. While the federal subsidies help, some in the business community believe that the chargers will attract customers.

"Charging equipment is popping up largely because of subsidies. As part of a $5 billion federal program to subsidize development of electric vehicles and battery technology, the U.S. Energy Department over the past two years provided about $130 million for two pilot projects that help pay for chargers at homes, offices and public locations."

Although the subsidies will not last forever, the cost of chargers will fall as production rises, meaning that if you wait, you will probably not pay much more than you would today with the subsidy.

Parking Made Simple Via New Application

It was only a matter of time before technology eliminated many of the hassles associated with parking. A new app called "Parking" makes it easy to find a spot, pay for it, and even find your car when you return. Streetline, a California start-up, is the maker.

From GreentechEnterprise: The idea of finding a spot more easily, and collecting data about them, is appealing to drivers, merchants and cities alike. "Parking is a great unsolved problem," said Zia Yusuf, CEO of Streetline. He pointed to a study from UCLA that found that in just one 15-block area of Los Angeles, about 30 percent of traffic involved people looking for parking, a figure that added up to nearly one million excess vehicle miles in a year in that small areas.

It appears the opportunities are limitless for Parker, which can also find Zipcars, handicap spaces, and electric charging stations.

Check out the full story

Download the app

Plug-In Electric Webinar a Success

I want to thank everyone who participated in our first ever Lanier webinar. More than 20 people from a dozen cities across the U.S. took part. The topic, Plug-In Electric Vehicles, could not have been more timely with over 1,000,000 electric vehicle slated to hit the streets by 2015, which means that 2,000,000 charging station need to be installed by then.

I also want to thank our speaker Don Francis, Executive Director Clean Cities Atlanta for taking the time to join us. Here is a copy of the presentation.

Here are two other excellent resources:
Utility Industry National Plug In Vehicle Initiative - GOElectricdrive
USDOE Alternative Fuel Data Cetner - Alt Fuels & Advanced Vehicle Data Cetner
If you have a topic you would like to see addressed in our next webinar, please let us know.