10 states aim for 200,000 electric cars

BALTIMORE (AP):

Ten states from Massachusetts to Maryland in the United States are joining forces to promote electric vehicles. The Northeast Electric Vehicle Network announced late last week it will work to help plan and install charging stations throughout the region as well as attract private investment in clean-vehicle infrastructure.

The 10 states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Maine is participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative which is collaborating with but not a part the new network, said Chris Coil, a spokesman for the Georgetown Climate Centre, which is helping coordinate the initiatives.

President Barack Obama has called for one million plug-in vehicles to be on the road nationwide by 2015 and the network hopes to account for 200,000 of those vehicles. The network is being supported by a nearly US$1 million US Department of Energy grant to New York's Energy Research and Development Authority.

Among the things network members will work on is the location of charging stations. Placing charging stations at commuter rail stations, for example, would allow commuters to park and plug, said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Centre.

"You can have almost a zero emissions experience if you drive your electric vehicle to a train station and plug in while you go into town from there," Arroyo said.

Permitting issues

The network also will look into making sure car owners can upgrade the plugs in their garage with ease and will tackle other permitting issues, said Colin O'Mara, Delaware's secretary of Energy and Environment.

O'Mara said the network's goal is to "create the north-east as the epicentre" of the electric-vehicle industry by sharing what has worked and what hasn't.

Environmentalists and others are looking to electric vehicles to help cut pollution because about 30 per cent of the region's greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, which includes highway vehicles as well as airplanes, trains and shipping.

Marc Geller is co-founder of Plug In America, an electric-vehicle advocacy group. He said the network is one of a number of regional initiatives nationwide working to develop simple, clear guidelines for installing public infrastructure.

Once that's done, Geller said states can "turn to the real question of what can we do to get the public infrastructure in the ground as quickly as the cars arrive."

Geller said it was important to keep the needs of the car buyer and user in mind, noting that 90 per cent of charging by electric-vehicle owners currently occurs at home. Public charging stations could give electric-car owners the confidence to venture further from home and educate others about the technology, he said.

"For many people, the public-charging infrastructure will be an opportunity to see electric cars out in the wild, so to speak," Geller said.

Mike Tinskey, associate director of global electric-vehicle infrastructure for Ford, said car manufacturers have agreed on a standard plug for all electric vehicles. The only difference now is the speed of the charging stations.