With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf being rolled out this fall across the country … and the more pricey Tesla Roadster already making its electric vehicle debut … the next concern is where to charge these electric vehicles. While most folks will have or will be getting the capability to do it at home, the lack of infrastructure for these new cars could be problematic.
In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast President of Car Charging Group Andy Kinard says his company will be able to provide these away-from-home chargers at a variety of locations, including shopping centers, parking garages and movie theaters. He explains his company’s system is put in for free at these types of locations, and then the revenues generated are shared. There’s even an application for smart phones that will help electric vehicle owners find the charging locations, generating traffic for that business that has a charger put in.
Kinard says there are some regulatory hurdles he still has to clear. The biggest is how to sell the electricity. Only two states, California and Texas, allow businesses to charge for re-sold kilowatt hours. Right now, he can only charge for the time without considering how much electricity each vehicle might be drawing. In the meantime, he’s trying to educate the public that these chargers will be available once the vehicles are readily available.
You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast