Here are a few resources on charging stations across the country.

Electric Drive Transportation Association: http://www.goelectricdrive.com website under the National Plug-in Vehicle Initiative. SDG&E has participated in founding the concept, participated in the development of this website through the Steering Committee, Outreach Committee, Technical and Policy Committees that developed this site.

Rocky Mountain Institute’s Project Get Ready: http://www.projectgetready.org. SDG&E serves on the Technical Advisory Committee for this resource which provides resources to cities relative to charging initiatives.

Coulomb Technologies has created an online map www.mychargepoint.net/find-stations.php showing units across the country.

ECOtality also has an interactive map at www.theevproject.com/charging-maps.php, though the company won’t start building its stations until next month.

The Department of Energy runs the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center, which features a map of stations for alternative vehicles. www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/locator/stations.

EV Charger News ( www.evchargernews.com ) lists locations as well as driver comments on the units.

Charging Station Resources is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

(Source: Environmental News Service)

SAN DIEGO, California, January 31, 2011 (ENS) – San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders Monday rolled out Smart City San Diego, a broad public-private collaboration that aims to improve the region’s energy independence, empower consumers to adopt electric vehicles, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive economic growth.

Smart City San Diego partners are the City of San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, GE, the University of California San Diego and CleanTECH San Diego, a nonprofit organization that includes business and financial leaders, academic and research institutes, government agencies and other nonprofits.

“With the San Diego region currently preparing for one of the largest initial deployments of electric vehicles in the country, the first priority for Smart City San Diego is to expand current projects to implement a comprehensive electric vehicle infrastructure,” said Mayor Sanders.

Electric car draws power from a GE WattStation in San Diego. (Photo courtesy GE)

“This is the first of many initiatives that our partners throughout the region will undertake to make San Diego the foremost resource-conscious community in the United States,” the mayor said.

Electric vehicles offer tremendous benefits to consumers and the city while posing significant challenges, the mayor said.

While electric vehicles could reduce U.S. oil importation by 52 percent, and electricity costs per mile are calculated at one-quarter to one-third the cost of gasoline, there are obstacles to overcome.

Grid reliability, consumer impact, public charging and alternative fuel options are some of the issues Smart City San Diego intends to address as part of a comprehensive plan to bring more efficient, reliable and sustainable energy to everyday living.

GE is involved through its charging station, the GE WattStation, which charges vehicles quickly and uses smart grid technology that allows utility companies to manage the impact EVs have on the local and regional electric grids.

“Increasingly, competitiveness will be determined by our ability to grow in a prosperous yet sustainable manner,” said Bob Gilligan, vice president, Digital Energy, GE Energy Services at Monday’s event. “GE is helping San Diego and cities around the world strike a balance between these seemingly contradictory goals.”

The Smart City San Diego plan includes five electric vehicle initiatives:

• To streamline EV charging, UC San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric and GE will demonstrate smart technologies to identify when and where charging will occur, and work with electric vehicle owners to better manage charging loads.
• To ensure easy and rapid deployment of electric vehicle chargers for both home and public-access locations, San Diego Gas & Electric and the City of San Diego will develop an efficient electric vehicle permitting process.
• To test the technical and economic feasibility of achieving zero tailpipe emissions, UC San Diego, GE and San Diego Gas & Electric will use UC San Diego’s solar and fuel cell renewable energy generation infrastructure. CleanTECH San Diego will link anticipated technology needs in the electric vehicle sector and innovators in the region.
• To quantify the economic impacts of the electric vehicle initiatives, such as cluster growth, incremental job growth and training needs, CleanTECH San Diego and the City of San Diego will collaborate.
• The collaborators plan to enlist a consumer focus group of 50 UC San Diego students, faculty, and staff who will be offered commercial leases on electric vehicles, charging their vehicles through UC San Diego’s planned electric vehicle infrastructure.

“UC San Diego is committed to working with our partners to develop and demonstrate innovations that will enable carbon-free transportation,” said Marye Anne Fox, the university’s chancellor.

“Through our collaboration, and the university’s significant investment in renewable energy generation and storage, smart grid communication infrastructure and the expertise of our faculty and staff,” said Fox, “we are poised to help with the successful adoption of electric vehicles in San Diego and eventually mainstream America.”

San Diego Gets EV-Ready With New ‘Smart City’ Collaboration is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

The 25,000 EVs will constitute most of GE’s fleet.

NEWS |  TRANSPORTATION

MICHAEL KANELLOS: NOVEMBER 11, 2010

The electric car industry has clamored for a case study to showcase they economics of electric cars. General Electric is giving them one.

The conglomerate said it would purchase 25,000 electric cars for its fleet. GE’s global car fleet right now is 30,000 cars so electrics will come to predominate. GE will buy 12,000 next year, including many Chevy Volts (General Motors only plans to make around 10,000 Volts through 2011, but could expand to 15,000). By 2015, half of the fleet cars will be electric.

This will likely make General Electric one of the largest owners of electric cars in the world. Wal-Mart, UPS, and other delivery companies are converting to electric and hybrid deliver trucks, but the size of GE’s fleet will be tough to match.

Fleet owners will be one of the important drivers for EVs. Nearly half of the cars sold are actually fleet cars, said Brandon Mason, Global Powertrain Lead Analyst, U.S. Auto Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers at The Networked EV this week. It is also easier for fleet owners to incorporate technologies like high-powered charging stations or even battery swapping into the mix. Fleet cars ply circumscribed routes for the most part–employees aren’t taking them skiing on the weekend. As a result, charging stations and infrastructure can be localized.

Better Place, the battery swapping and charging guys, will launch in Israel with fleet customers. Proterra, the electric bus company, sells its buses with high speed chargers.

Electric cars, of course, would help GE’s bottom line. The company sells the WattStation charging station, but also transformers, smart grid equipment, sodium sulfur batteries and all those other components that will be required to beef up the grid for electric drive. Kevin Dasso at PG&E estimates that it will cost $150 million to $175 million to upgrade the grid for uncontrolled (i.e. peak hour) charging. Even with off-peak charging, upgrades will be needed.

General Electric to Purchase Massive Flotilla of Electric Cars is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

National AFV Day Odyssey

The Journey Continues

National AFV Day Odyssey

• A biennial event dedicated to promoting cleaner choices in transportation!

The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) undertook this project because of the critical need to support the alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) industry. More public awareness is necessary to help ease our dependence on foreign oil, and we must support those manufacturers that are making AFVs a viable option for individuals everywhere. With everyone joining together on one day, working toward the same goals, we cannot help but compound the effect of our individual efforts. Such unity will further increase the impact of each individual site’s program and will catalyze the momentum for the advanced transportation movement nationwide. Together, we will bring national attention to AFVs and advanced technology vehicles and promote them as a cleaner and more efficient choice for transportation.

• Has something for everyone!

Odyssey events are held in numerous locations nationwide and are tailored to the specific needs of the audience. Site coordinators are encouraged to be creative and host events that are fun, interactive, and educational. Past event formats have included ride-and-drives, vehicle displays, and workshops. Additionally, industry experts are often on hand to answer questions that attendees may have while educational seminars provide detailed information about viable alternative fuel options. In 2008, a rock concert, custom paint demonstrations, stock car racing, and an E-85 station fueling event were some of the unique Odyssey events hosted by local site coordinators.

• Guarantees Results!

Odyssey feedback proved that the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 events were tremendous successes. Sponsors, partners, National Training Centers (NTCs), Clean Cities Coordinators, and attendees alike have seen how valuable the program can be for promoting energy independence and supporting the environment. They have also seen the proven results of Odyssey and the millions of individuals reached by its message. We hope that you will become part of the solution and join us on Friday, October 15, 2010. Together, we can make a difference!

Odyssey; October 15th 2010 is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

The 2010 San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition Survey is currently underway, we are gathering data regarding many organization’s alternative fuel/advanced technology fleets in order to complete our 2010 annual report for the Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Cities Program. The DOE uses this data to report to Congress, as required by the Energy Policy Act, on the success and benefits of the program and to calculate the millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel displaced in the nation due to the conversion of fleets from gasoline and diesel fuels to alternative fuel/advanced technologies.  The survey will ascertain the number and types of alternative vehicles currently in use, their various fuels and the frequency of use, the fueling station availability for both public and private entities, the idle-reduction and fuel economy improvements for fleets, vehicle miles traveled reduction and incentive programs, and other general information such as operational, stakeholder, and outreach activities of the Clean Fuel Coalition.

The survey will span various city governments of San Diego County, School Districts, Transit Systems, Private Enterprises, and many other fleet types. If you are a fleet manager in San Diego County please take some time to complete the linked survey; your most accurate information is truly appreciated.

Click here to take survey

As part of this years San Diego Clean Cities Survey there will be an updated list of the contributors, collaborators, and companies that have completed the survey and would like to be noted for their efforts in reducing petroleum fuel use. Thank you to all whom have put forward your efforts in transportation sustainability:

Private:

Allied Waste Services, Cloud Nine, EDCO, Kick Gas Co-op , TerraMoto Transportation , Port of San Diego, San Diego Zoo,

Public:

City & County:

Carlsbad , Chula vista , Coronado , Del Mar ,  El Cajon , Encinitas , Escondido , Imperial Beach , La Mesa , Lemon Grove , National City , Oceanside , Poway , San Diego , San Marcos , Santee , Solana Beach , Vista

State & Federal:

Airport Authority, Air Pollution Control District, Camp Pendleton,  California Highway Patrol, CalTrans, Olivehein Water District, Valley Center Water District, US Navy, US Postal Service,

Educational:

Transit Systems:

Chula Vista Transit, MTS, North County Lifeline Transit, North County Transit, SD Transit Authority

Non-Fleet Contributors:

NewLeaf BioFuels

2010 San Diego Clean Cities Progress Report is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

5-27-10 EPBF Future of the Electric Car (Business and Community)

The forum is a presentation of Net Impact, the Environmental Policy and Business Forum, and IR/PS.

Future of the Electric Car in Southern California – UCSD Event for San Diego Community – May 27 is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

The following content is republished with full approval of Cuong Huynh and CleanCarTalk.com.

I had a chance to visit with Jim Ruby, Manager of Fleet Services, and Greg Nishihira, Business Manager of Fleet Services at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD.) We talked about fleet operations at UCSD that support numerous university functions and the many programs that Jim and Greg are spearheading to achieve sustainable transportation for the school.

UCSD is reducing its reliance on conventional, gas-powered vehicles, and capitalizing on new technology by:

• Replacing older vehicles with hybrid and electric models
• Running its shuttle fleet on 20% biodiesel or compressed natural gas
• Installing diesel particulate traps on shuttle buses to significantly reduce particulates
• Collaborating with students on biofuel research

By changing purchasing and maintenance procedures, UCSD’s Fleet Services has become a California certified Vehicle Service & Repair Model Shop. This is the Model P2 Shop Program (P2 for Pollution Prevention,) California’s implementation program to eliminate or reduce waste generation at automotive repair shops.

Among Fleet Services’ improved maintenance and repair procedures are:

• Recap tires on shuttle fleet, which require 30% less energy and 66% less oil to produce and cost 30% to 60% less than new tires
• Synthetic transmission fluid lengthening shuttle fleet service intervals and decreasing hazardous waste

Below is part 1 of our conversation, with Fleet Services photos showing electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles in action in and around the UCSD campus.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxnkzFmbc6s

UC San Diego’s Fleet Services – Pushing for Sustainable Solutions in Vehicle Operations is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition

U.S. Department of Energy Chooses ECOtality’s eTec to Implement Project

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 5, 2009 – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) today announced that eTec, a leader in the research, development and testing of advanced transportation and energy systems, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to implement the largest transportation electrification project in U.S. history through a $99.8 million grant.

eTec, a subsidiary of ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLY), is partnering with Nissan North America to deploy up to 5,000 electric vehicles and establish charging infrastructure in five key markets, including San Diego, to develop, implement and study techniques for optimizing the effectiveness of charging infrastructure supporting widespread electric vehicle deployment.

Read the Press Release (PDF 100KB.)

San Diego Selected As Target Market For Largest Transportation Electrification Project In U.S. History is a post from: San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition