Seattle charges up for electric cars
> Seattle charges up for electric cars
> SEATTLE (The Associated Press) - Dec 11 - By KATIE ZEMTSEFF
>
> Over the next two years, 2,500 charging stations for electric
> vehicles
> will be built in the Seattle area as part of a partnership between
> Nissan
> North America and the Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., or
> eTec.
>
> Representatives of eTec and Nissan were in Seattle Wednesday to
> show
> off Nissan's Leaf, a zero-emission, all-electric car that can travel
> up to
> 100 miles on one charge. Last summer, eTec received a $100 million
> stimulus
> grant through the U.S. Department of Energy for building charging
> stations
> in five areas: Tennessee, Oregon, San Diego, Seattle and Phoenix/
> Tucson.
> Project participants in each region will provide matching funds.
>
> Mark Perry, director of product planning and advanced technology
> strategy at Nissan, said installation of stations in this area
> should begin
> next summer, with the first being completed by August or September.
> He said
> Nissan wants to have all the stations constructed by the fall of 2011.
>
> Rich Feldman, eTec's Pacific Northwest regional manager for
> planning
> and business development, is overseeing the project in Washington.
> He said
> charging stations will be installed first in residential areas.
> Nissan Leaf
> buyers will receive a free 220-volt charging station for their home.
>
> Most stations will take eight hours to fully charge a car, but 40
> stations will give a substantial charge in 15 minutes. Nissan wants
> to have
> all the stations constructed by the fall of 2011.
>
> The car price has not been set but Tracy Woodard, director of
> government affairs for Nissan, said it would range between $28,000 and
> $35,000. Nissan said 22,000 people have contacted Nissan showing
> interest in
> the Leaf.
>
> The Seattle area will get at least 1,000 of the cars, which
> will be
> made in Japan initially. Beginning in 2012, Nissan will manufacture
> the car
> and its lithium-ion battery at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
>
> After homes get stations, Feldman said the next stage will be to
> install them in commercial and retail areas like workplaces or
> coffee shops.
> They also will be installed in public spaces like parking garages or
> transit
> centers. Local contractors will be hired to do the installations.
>
> Businesses that want a station at their site can sponsor a
> charging
> station or become involved with the project.
>
> Other brands of electric cars will be able to use the stations.
> Perry
> said it should cost about $2 to charge a Leaf.
>
> Most stations will take eight hours to fully charge a Leaf, but
> eTec
> will also install 40 fast chargers in the Seattle area that will
> charge a
> car in 15 minutes, though it will not be a full charge. Feldman said,
> "eTec's goal is making charging easy and worry free."
>
> Ron Posthuma, assistant director of the King County Department of
> Transportation, said he expects about 70 percent of the charging
> stations
> will be in homes, 20 percent in commercial space like malls or
> businesses,
> and about 10 percent will be publicly available.
>
> King County has developed a draft proposal for locating the
> public
> stations. Places on the list include King Street Center, Starbucks
> Corporate
> Office, Northgate Transit Center, Children's Hospital and
> Zymogenetics.
>
> Posthuma said the final locations will depend on siting of the
> commercial stations. If for example, Northgate Mall installs a
> station,
> there likely would not be a public station in that area.
>
> Local governments have about $2 million for stations, while
> eTec has
> about $20 million, Posthuma said. Local utilities, such as Seattle
> City
> Light and Puget Sound Energy, will provide energy to stations, but
> there are
> still a lot of details to work out.
>
> "It's a fairly complicated thing, actually," he said. "We're
> learning
> it by doing it."
>
> Mayor Greg Nickels said he expects to find some kinks in the
> program
> because it is such a novel idea. But he said this is a direction the
> city
> needs to be moving toward.
>
> "We're going to find out what works and what doesn't work," he
> said.
> "Seattle is just very pleased to be one of the leaders in that."
>
> ______________
> SEATTLE (The Associated Press) - Dec 11 - By KATIE ZEMTSEFF
>
> Over the next two years, 2,500 charging stations for electric
> vehicles
> will be built in the Seattle area as part of a partnership between
> Nissan
> North America and the Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., or
> eTec.
>
> Representatives of eTec and Nissan were in Seattle Wednesday to
> show
> off Nissan's Leaf, a zero-emission, all-electric car that can travel
> up to
> 100 miles on one charge. Last summer, eTec received a $100 million
> stimulus
> grant through the U.S. Department of Energy for building charging
> stations
> in five areas: Tennessee, Oregon, San Diego, Seattle and Phoenix/
> Tucson.
> Project participants in each region will provide matching funds.
>
> Mark Perry, director of product planning and advanced technology
> strategy at Nissan, said installation of stations in this area
> should begin
> next summer, with the first being completed by August or September.
> He said
> Nissan wants to have all the stations constructed by the fall of 2011.
>
> Rich Feldman, eTec's Pacific Northwest regional manager for
> planning
> and business development, is overseeing the project in Washington.
> He said
> charging stations will be installed first in residential areas.
> Nissan Leaf
> buyers will receive a free 220-volt charging station for their home.
>
> Most stations will take eight hours to fully charge a car, but 40
> stations will give a substantial charge in 15 minutes. Nissan wants
> to have
> all the stations constructed by the fall of 2011.
>
> The car price has not been set but Tracy Woodard, director of
> government affairs for Nissan, said it would range between $28,000 and
> $35,000. Nissan said 22,000 people have contacted Nissan showing
> interest in
> the Leaf.
>
> The Seattle area will get at least 1,000 of the cars, which
> will be
> made in Japan initially. Beginning in 2012, Nissan will manufacture
> the car
> and its lithium-ion battery at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
>
> After homes get stations, Feldman said the next stage will be to
> install them in commercial and retail areas like workplaces or
> coffee shops.
> They also will be installed in public spaces like parking garages or
> transit
> centers. Local contractors will be hired to do the installations.
>
> Businesses that want a station at their site can sponsor a
> charging
> station or become involved with the project.
>
> Other brands of electric cars will be able to use the stations.
> Perry
> said it should cost about $2 to charge a Leaf.
>
> Most stations will take eight hours to fully charge a Leaf, but
> eTec
> will also install 40 fast chargers in the Seattle area that will
> charge a
> car in 15 minutes, though it will not be a full charge. Feldman said,
> "eTec's goal is making charging easy and worry free."
>
> Ron Posthuma, assistant director of the King County Department of
> Transportation, said he expects about 70 percent of the charging
> stations
> will be in homes, 20 percent in commercial space like malls or
> businesses,
> and about 10 percent will be publicly available.
>
> King County has developed a draft proposal for locating the
> public
> stations. Places on the list include King Street Center, Starbucks
> Corporate
> Office, Northgate Transit Center, Children's Hospital and
> Zymogenetics.
>
> Posthuma said the final locations will depend on siting of the
> commercial stations. If for example, Northgate Mall installs a
> station,
> there likely would not be a public station in that area.
>
> Local governments have about $2 million for stations, while
> eTec has
> about $20 million, Posthuma said. Local utilities, such as Seattle
> City
> Light and Puget Sound Energy, will provide energy to stations, but
> there are
> still a lot of details to work out.
>
> "It's a fairly complicated thing, actually," he said. "We're
> learning
> it by doing it."
>
> Mayor Greg Nickels said he expects to find some kinks in the
> program
> because it is such a novel idea. But he said this is a direction the
> city
> needs to be moving toward.
>
> "We're going to find out what works and what doesn't work," he
> said.
> "Seattle is just very pleased to be one of the leaders in that."
>
> ______________