Just saw that two new electric vehicle charging stations have been installed next to City Hall! These Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (or EVSE’s) stations made by “Blink” are being offered FOR FREE through a grant administered by a company called Ecotality.
A hearty THANK YOU to our forward-thinking City Council and the staff who worked on setting this up! Now let’s get some MORE!! 😉
The grant was supposed to end last January, but Ecotality found that for some reason they couldn’t give away enough of these EVSE’s in the time originally allotted so they’ve extended the grant until the end of the year. I think the City and businesses in Coronado should jump on getting as many of these installed in Coronado as possible before the free money runs out or some other city gobbles up the quota. Plus–your business then shows up on the map of all the electric vehicle charging locations both in online web searches, on mapping programs, on many smartphone applications and on the built-in navigation systems in the electric vehicles themselves! The Grand Del Mar has put some in, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, the Hyatt Aventine in La Jolla, office buildings, shopping centers, almost all the local Colleges and Universities, etc.
I just got an all electric Nissan LEAF in December (at Pacific Nissan in PB) and I LOVE it. It’s zippy, comfy, spacious, clean, green, and completely quiet. My wife and I fight over who gets to drive it when I’m off duty. Electric is the future of transportation and there are more all electric models being released every year. You owe it to yourself to check them out.
Here’s the deal: the EVSE stations themselves are free, as well as most if not all of the cost of installation (simple installs would likely be fully covered, unless you need a long run of conduit to bring power to the unit or you have to upgrade your panel, etc.). The grant also pays for all the power until the end of 2013. After 2013 they become your property and you can then do with them whatever you want: if you don’t like them, Ecotality will come and remove them for free. If you decide to keep them, you can also decide if you want to charge for access to the electricity or not. You can keep them free for the public to use (for the few kWH’s that might be used while stopping by) or you can charge by the hour for the charging time.
More info: Ecotality Blink Network Recargo app Nissan LEAF Car2Go
And have you noticed the little blue and white Car2Go’s in downtown San Diego? They are just like regular Smart four-two’s (by Daimler), but these are all electric! Currently (!) their operating area does not extend into Coronado because we just installed the first EVSE in town. But if we could install a few more here in town to re-charge their battery packs, we could extend the Car2Go’s regular operating area into Coronado. Think of what that would mean for the people and businesses in Coronado: Coronado businesses rely on tourists for income, but most cars are big, loud and smelly. All those tourists in San Diego could zip over the bridge and come to Coronado to shop and eat and you can park two of these Car2Go’s to a spot. Locals who only need to go over the bridge once in a while could get rid of their own cars and just grab a Car2Go off the street when they wanted one. The hotels in town could have a few on hand for their guests to offer as an additional amenity for staying here in Coronado. People could then go to the Zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, etc. and not need to rent a car for the week. The Car2Go rents by the minute and your time starts and stops when you get in and out. Just park it on the street (for free anywhere in San Diego!), swipe your card and the time stops. Find the nearest one when you need one later on (usually within a few blocks anywhere in the operating area), swipe your card again and you only pay for the trip time. More info: Car2Go
I also got my home EVSE for my Nissan LEAF paid for with the Ecotality grant, which also covered most of my installation costs. Charging at super-off-peak rates, the LEAF costs me only 2¢/mile to drive (vs. the 15.3¢ in fuel costs alone for my 30mpg gas car) and I charge it on my solar photovoltaic system at home which also paid for itself five years ago in the electricity savings. If you add up the $10,000 in rebates and tax credits, plus the $13,300 savings from the gas alone for the 100,000 mile warranty (not including the savings of no smog checks, no oil changes and diamond lane privileges!), the car practically pays for itself over it’s lifetime.
Spread the word to your friends–the future has arrived. Coronado rightfully prides itself on being cutting edge, green and ahead of the curve. We can do San Diego one better and become an all electric city. All those golf carts you see running around town are great for local use, but what about the occasional trip over the bridge? Wouldn’t it be nice to also have side impact protection, front and rear crumple zones, a dozen airbags, a navigation system and satellite radio?
