Right plug, wrong socket
Once on the cutting edge of EV technology, Pasadena must retrofit sockets of its many charging stations
By Jennifer Hadley 10/02/2008
During its centennial celebration this month, General Motors rolled out the concept model of its new extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.
When it finally comes off the assembly line in 2010, the Volt will be able to run for 40 miles without using a drop of gas or releasing a single emission, GM says. Sounds like good news for the environment and Pasadena, since there already are numerous EV charging sites — many equipped with multiple charging stations — throughout the city.
Indeed, we’ve had more than a dozen EV charging sites since the late 1990s, when the Electric Vehicle Corridor Communities Program was introduced as one prong of a Zero Emission Vehicle Quick Charge Program that was first proposed by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee.
According to Judi Masuda, the city’s planner for transportation demand management, “The EV Corridor Communities Program assisted communities in preparing for EVs by testing the consumer market and demonstrating the infrastructure, permitting process and coordination necessary for the smooth introduction of larger quantities of EVs.”
Consequently, 17 charging stations were installed in Pasadena, making the city second only to Los Angeles in EV-support infrastructure. The timing of the installations coincided with the first wave of EV fever to strike the nation, when GM introduced its EV1 (to fanfare remarkably similar to that now surrounding the Volt).
In our city, part of the EV Corridor Communities Program, the demonstration resulted in officials, staff members and others driving various EVs around town and charging them at the many stations that were actually being used.
However, the EV craze never quite reached the predicted fever pitch, and by the turn of the millennium GM recalled its EV1s, thereby securing its reputation as the company that “killed the electric car.” But that’s all current under the bridge. Everyone deserves a second chance, including General Motors.
So Pasadena should be all set for the surge of Volts and other plug-in EVs that auto manufacturers are scrambling to produce. Right on! We’re ahead of the trend… except for one small detail: Our EV charging stations aren’t designed to work with the Chevy Volt, nor are they equipped to charge other neighborhood/low-speed EVs without being retrofitted to include 110-volt plug-in options (a standard household wall plug.)
That problem, coupled with requests for tools to charge small, neighborhood EVs that have been streaming into Masuda’s office from Pasadena residents, prompted her and Pasadena Water and Power Public Benefit Programs Administrator John Hoffner to begin researching the costs and labor involved in retrofitting our EV charging stations with 110-volt plug-ins. To date, the cost of this project has not been determined.
So what say you, Pasadena? Do our EV charging stations deserve a facelift?
It could certainly be argued that the installation of these stations was a lot of effort for what little use the stations got over the years (only six electric vehicles are currently being used by city officials). But on the other hand, in the context of our times, we actually need them more now than ever.
More than a decade later, we’ve grown up, (as evidenced by the explosion in hybrid popularity and the waning interest in SUVs). Should EVs continue to gain in popularity, the retrofitted stations would be an added convenience to visitors, not to mention commuters who travel more than 40 miles. And, of course, if the city scoops up new EVs in the coming years, the stations will again serve a valuable purpose.
All the same, I’m just not ready to support or oppose the retrofitting yet — especially since I’ve got two years of payments left on my SUV.
Contact Jen Hadley at jmhadley624@yahoo.com.
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