Making Bay Area friendly for electric cars

[mgescuro]

Making Bay Area friendly for electric cars

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BA1A1494TB.DTL



Bay Area environmental leaders are counting on a $1 billion investment to build the nation's first electric vehicle network - with service stations to recharge batteries and garages to swap depleted batteries for fresh ones - and finally make the gasoline-free cars practical.

The Palo Alto-based company Better Place says its network of electric-vehicle charging stations will cover the Bay Area by 2012. In exchange for the investment from Better Place, the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announced plans Thursday to collectively create cohesive regulations for electric vehicles that will apply to cities and counties throughout the region.

In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city will use tax breaks to promote sales of electric vehicles and encourage homes and businesses to make charging stations widely available. The city will also look at ways to speed up the permitting process to install charging outlets at homes and businesses.

"We're going to get serious about advancing our local climate action plans, about getting into the business of alternative transportation," Newsom said during a news conference at City Hall. "I don't believe halfway is good enough. I'm a guy driving a hybrid (vehicle) and I don't feel too good about that. For us to get to the next level, we need unprecedented regional collaboration."

Better Place has built similar networks in Israel, Denmark and Australia, but the Bay Area infrastructure, which will allow drivers of electric vehicles to make long-distance trips without worrying about finding a place to charge or change a battery, will be the first of its kind in the United States.

San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland will begin implementing their own policies next month, with plans to make electrical outlets for low-voltage vehicles available on all public buildings next year. Higher-voltage charging equipment also will be made available at city parking lots and curbs - including one plan to put outlets in sidewalk streetlights in San Jose and San Francisco.

In the current economic and political climate, it's more important than ever that the United States find creative ways to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, said Shai Agassi, founder of the investor-funded Better Place.

"We need to start thinking about this as the next generation of the car. It's about time we changed from car 1.0 to car 2.0," Agassi said. "We're following a model that's worked in Israel, in Denmark. We build the infrastructure first. By 2012 we'll be ready for a mass market of cars."

More at Link

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Would have been nice is GM were to have a Volt present. But nooooo... a Nissan something and a Prius.

[JerryL]

The Bay Area seems like a perfect area to promote this type of technology.
Relatively compact in area, but highly congested. And people used to alternative transportation , like 100+ year old cable car systems, BART, and numerous tunnels and bridges, and hills. It seems like personal transportation has been more of an issue there than in your other top 20 metro areas ..........realatively speaking.

[ChevroletRevived]

Oooh, that's good news! Project Better Place comes to the Bay Area!

[RamJet502]

What are they doing to address the additional demand for electricity itself?

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by RamJet502

What are they doing to address the additional demand for electricity itself?

Tidal power plant is being considered.
Windmill power on new Treasure Island development.
All new buildings built in the City must meet a certain LEEDS ratings. Also new buildings where possible will have solar or wind power enhanced systems.

In addition, they are building a new Natural Gas plant in the City limits.

There is also a consideration for a new nuclear power plant in CA -- possibly a 3rd reactor to the Diablo Nuclear Plant. And possibly a dedicated nuclear plant for the Bullet Train.

New Solar farms are already being built in Death valley.

CA is building new plants -- but they're green.