Leafs Over Texas!

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Plug-In Texas reports that Austin is a roll-out city for the Volt. That should at least give us a boost in 'charger' infrastructure on I10.

Plug-In Texas said:
Plug-In Texas welcomes today’s announcement by General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre, naming Austin as a launch city for the Chevy Volt.

As part of its corporate renaissance, GM has led in developing the electric vehicle and Texans will now have the chance to be early adopters of the latest transportation technology.

GM recognizes the strong interest in EVs not only in Austin, but in all of Texas’s urban areas for the adoption of electric vehicles.

EVs are clearly a win-win for Texas: a win for Texas drivers on operating costs and convenience; EVs are a win for the environment, contributing to improvement in urban air quality; and, the deployment of EVs strengthens the nation’s energy security.

Plug-In Texas is committed to raising awareness of electric vehicles and their economic and environmental benefits in the Lone Star State. Today’s announcement by GM’s Ed Whitacre demonstrates that momentum for EVs in Texas is growing.
 
AndyH said:
Plug-In Texas reports that Austin is a roll-out city for the Volt. That should at least give us a boost in 'charger' infrastructure on I10.

Yes - but GM is more interested in showing off how Volt can run on gas rather than battery. They seem to think they should steal from 15K Leaf customers rather than convince some of the 10 Million who buy a gas car every year. Lame.
 
I don't understand the business case for charger infrastructure for the Volt. It runs on gas already. It only goes 40 miles electric only. Nobody is going to stop and juice it up on a long trip.

There's little point in a 240V EVSE for the Volt, either. It charges fast enough from 110V.
 
Bicster said:
I don't understand the business case for charger infrastructure for the Volt.

Opportunity charging. If you can charge it fast, you are going to get 40 miles of fossil-free driving everytime you stop when for a break.

For daily commuting the charger infrastructure is even more crucial than Leaf - to make sure your daily commute is oilfree. Just see how many people here talk about trying to get a charger at the work place. With just a third of usable battery capacity Volt may give just 25 miles of electric range in highway driving (if we think Leaf will give 75 miles). This will make people with longer commutes angry if on the way back they are using oil everyday.
 
Imagine how excited BEV owners are going to be when they show up at a charger only to find a Volt monopolizing it.

I still think most Volt owners aren't going to give a rat's ass about opportunity charging. It's not something most people will go out of their way to do, when they don't have to. Home charging, yes.

The Volt is definitely not going to inspire charging infrastructure along I-10.
 
Bicster said:
I still think most Volt owners aren't going to give a rat's ass about opportunity charging.

Probably true. People who would care about such things probably buy an EV anyway ...

ps : If I was single or we had only one car, I'd buy Volt and charge it as much as possible everywhere to cut down on oil consumption ...
 
Bicster said:
The Volt is definitely not going to inspire charging infrastructure along I-10.

The reason I think it'll help us is that while Austin has a few 120V charge points, I haven't yet found anything that suggests they're looking for L2 or L3 charging. But...

Volt owners will receive free home EVSE installs under the ChargePoint America program. ChargePoint America will also be installing 'free' (paid for by DOE as part of their EV study) public EVSE in their target cities - and Austin is the only Texas target city in this program.

http://chargepointamerica.com/
What criteria will you use to determine who receives free charging stations?
We are expecting a significant demand in every region. The first criterion is whether we believe the charging station will be used in the desired location. We are expected to provide the DOE with extensive usage data on every charging station in the program. The second criterion will be proximity around the specific region. We want charging station installations spread out throughout the entire metropolitan region. The third criterion is when the station owners are able to take delivery and install their station(s). Examples of good locations: large parking garages in centrally located areas, office parks with many employees, some of whom would potentially purchase an electric vehicle, airports or train stations with a lot of traffic, shopping malls or restaurants, high profile places like sporting venues, monuments or recreation areas (golf courses, marinas). The objective is to get highly visible, publically accessible, geographically dispersed locations from which we can provide the DOE and our automobile partners a lot of data on the usage of these charging stations.
 
The EV Project Expands To Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston Added to Roster of Project Cities


This mentions free chargers for Volt purchasers - hopefully they will have some public infrastructure as well.

http://www.ecotality.com/pressreleases/07142010_Expansion_Texas.pdf

Purchasers of a Chevrolet Volt who qualify for EV Project participation in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas will
receive a free home charger and credit toward the installation of the charger. The EV Project will gather and analyze
data defining how these Volt purchasers utilize their vehicles and interface with their home charging infrastructure.
“Data from Volt drivers in Texas will add another facet to The EV Project’s understanding of the interaction between
electric vehicles and charging infrastructure,” said Don Karner, President of ECOtality North America and Project
Manager of The EV Project.

“Texas has already been strategically engaged in preparing for the wide acceptance of electric vehicles,” said
ECOtality President & CEO Jonathan Read. “We believe our presence in the state will accelerate that process.”
 
It's great to have more chargepoints in Texas - but now I'm confused. I thought the EV Project was for the Leaf while the ChargePoint America program was for the Volt, Ford, and Smart? Dueling pots of government money, I guess.
 
bradford said:
i'm confused too. will the Leaf be able to charge at the chargeamerica chargers?? they don't mention the Leaf, only volt and smart? :?:

Yes - any public chargers will be J-1772.
 
I just signed up last week. I've been riding a Vectrix for a couple of years now in the Clear Lake area (between Houston and Galveston). I work at NASA on the space station. Well I don't actually work on the space station per se cause that's what astronauts actually do, but I work on designing space station HW.

I talked to the "Leaf Expert" at Clear Lake Nissan last week. Since Reliant Energy is Houston based, and since they signed some sort of deal with Nissan last February (or January or something like that), there is talk about them offering special deals on charging and electric rates for Reliant Energy power subscribers. According to the dealer, The home charger will come with some sort of smart charger that can tell when you're charging your Leaf and give a discounted rate for that power. Also, the charging stations that are placed around the city will be free or discounted for anyone with a Reliant Energy card, which they give you for being a RE subscriber.

Anyway, Houston is a very "EV friendly" area in that there are no hills. In fact, the only hills we have are freeway overpasses and bridges. The main problem we have is the heat, so power will be needed for the air conditioner. But I'm not above using an ice-filled water bottle for running around the area. It works on the scooter. ;)

I currently live only 5 miles from work so the range of the Leaf should allow me to easily get to/from work and run errands around the area.
 
We are planning/hoping on getting a Leaf here in Dallas. We live downtown in an apartment community, so working out the charging logistics will be interesting over the next few months (I'm currently looking for resources to present to the property). Should we convince them to install/lease a public charger? Should we buy the charger and install it for our space but take it with us when we leave? Should they buy a single non-public charger and then just put a surcharge on that space? It's all very confusing.

Here's a little information I have gathered over the past few months of inquiries with the City of Dallas regarding their EV plans; I'm currently waiting for some updates.

From the City of Dallas back in January:

We do not have a set policy on providing EV Charging Stations at city buildings. We are including EV stations on an individual, case by case basis in our new buildings to help achieve our goal of LEED certification. Examples of some of our projects, such as Fire Station 38, Lancaster Kiest Library and South Central Police station, do have charging stations.

With respect to encouraging private sector buildings to offer charging stations, we are at the very first stages of working with a vendor to develop a plan to install them in some of the CBD parking garages. We do not have funding for this project, but we are hopeful that grant money might be available to obtain the needed funds.

Jill A. Jordan, P.E.
Assistant City Manager

And from GreenDallas back in January:

Currently, we are considering installing EV charging stations for public use. The city is part of a regional task force commissioned by the North Central Texas Council of Governments on electric vehicles.

Additionally, in the recent stimulus fund package, the city applied for and received funds for the testing of alternatively fueled vehicles for use in the City fleet.

Please feel free to contact us again to check on the status of the plans for installation.

Whole Foods in Austin announced the installation of Verdek/Coulomb charging stations at their HQ in April. Is there a plan to expand this program to the other stores in Texas?

The Verdek/Coulomb charge stations have also been installed in 2 new apartment communities in DFW (one in East Dallas, one in Addison).
 
retrodog said:
I just signed up last week. I've been riding a Vectrix for a couple of years now in the Clear Lake area (between Houston and Galveston). I work at NASA on the space station. Well I don't actually work on the space station per se cause that's what astronauts actually do, but I work on designing space station HW.

Welcome aboard! The Vectrix is a nice bike! (And hey - that station thingey is pretty cool, too!)

Please send an application for your group - I've got the electric scooter - just gotta shop for a machine gun. :lol:

Andy
 
Hi Jason, thanks for reserving your 100% electric Nissan LEAF™. We just wanted to let you know you'll be able to order your new Nissan LEAF in September 2010.

We'll send you an e-mail when it's time to work with a dealer to pick your car's color, review options and get a quote.

As you can imagine, the response for the Nissan LEAF has been tremendous. The Nissan LEAF order period will be staggered by state, and the timing of your reservation will hold your place.

As a result, orders from states with an infrastructure to support electric driving - either in place or planned - will be taken first. But no matter where you live, you'll be among the first in your area to get a LEAF.

For more information available to Nissan LEAF reservation holders, please click here.

Looks like a September order for me. Still leaning towards leasing...
 
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