SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




56 New EV Charging Stations to Dot Connecticut Landscape Soon
Green Technology Featured Articles
November 04, 2013

56 New EV Charging Stations to Dot Connecticut Landscape Soon

By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

The electric vehicle (EV) is one of those great concepts that works really well in the right circumstances. Get it outside of those circumstances, however, and problems start to emerge that threaten to scuttle the whole concept. But one of those circumstances may be on the way out soon in Connecticut, thanks to a set of new grants that will bring 56 new charging stations to the state in fully 42 different locations, allowing some locations to get more than one.


Connecticut's governor, Daniel P. Malloy, described the effort as a way to cut back on “range anxiety” for EV drivers, calling the whole program as one day yielding “...a network of charging stations that allows anyone driving an electric vehicle to travel anywhere in our state with total confidence that they will be able to recharge their car battery when necessary.” Malloy continued, describing the grants as part of a larger plan that adds to the current roster of charging stations, currently around 100 total.

The individual grants range from $1,000 to $5,000, and the total grant program encompasses fully $135,946. The total in question came as the result of a settlement agreement that allowed N Star and Northeast Utilities to merge, with said settlement agreement being reached in April 2012. It's also part of a larger initiative between the governors of eight states—Connecticut being one of these—that are focusing on the promotion and use of “zero-emissions vehicles,” with an eye toward having 3.3 million such vehicles in play over the next 12 years.

Easily one of the biggest factors in terms of promoting EV use, according to Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, is the availability of charging stations. If such stations aren't on hand and immediately accessible, then the likelihood of people getting more into EV use is likely to fall. Jepsen further noted that the use of EVs is in turn likely to help improve air quality in Connecticut, and provide improvements to public health as well.

Of course, it's not just charging stations that prove an impediment to wider EV use. It's also issues of overall usability—the wintertime has posed problems for some species of EV, particularly when the issue of going through a pile of snow at the end of a driveway comes up, for example—but it's also issues of cost that keep many users away from EVs. It's true that the EV does pose a lot of advantages for its users—never having to drive through a gas station again tops among same, as well as the ability to keep a car at least partially fueled with systems like Kyocera's solar modules or the like—but by like token, there are also many obstacles that can't be addressed with more charging stations.

However, it's clear that charging stations were an issue for at least some drivers, so having a way to address that problem is likely to get some of the fence-sitters into the EV camp. Plus, issues of cost are likely to fall away when there are more buyers of EVs in general; economies of scale can take over and make units cheaper to produce, which means in turn cheaper to sell. It's a good start for Connecticut, but seeing more EVs on the road is more than just “more chargers” away.

 




Edited by Ryan Sartor


Green Technology Related Articles






Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy