11-Jul-1997 Friday
Charging stations for electric automobiles have been installed at a dozen
businesses, hospitals and tourist attractions across the county, and
advocates say these and others to come put San Diego County in the vanguard
of less-polluting transportation.
A caravan of a dozen electric vehicles drew attention to the recharging
installations yesterday during a 90-mile publicity tour of the new stations
sponsored by San Diego Gas and Electric Co. and the county.
The chargers are about as tall as the corner mailbox but are about half as
wide and silver-and-black in color.
"San Diego County is now the largest metropolitan area in the nation to be
electric-vehicle ready," said county Supervisor Ron Roberts, who also sits
on the state Air Resources Board.
"By establishing these chargers across the county, we have made a critical
first step toward getting people out of their fuel-burning cars and into
electric vehicles."
The chargers are configured to recharge General Motors' EV-1 electric
vehicle. About a dozen of these cars have been leased in the county to
date. Many of the stations also can be configured to recharge future
vehicles that use other recharging systems.
An estimated 50 to 70 other vehicles that have been retrofitted to use
battery power also ply the county's roads. The number of EV's is expected
to surge over the next few years as battery technology improves, more
manufacturers offer new models and charging stations proliferate.
Meanwhile, the stations help address what is perhaps electric vehicles'
most obvious drawback -- their limited range between recharges that take
hours.
"Electric vehicles have a limited range of between 70 and 120 miles on a
charge. We acknowledge that," said Ed Fitzgerald, vice president of Costco.
"But these chargers give our customers unlimited range. They can charge
here while shopping and keep driving all day long."
The chargers have been, or soon will be, installed at Costco stores in
Carlsbad, Chula Vista, San Marcos, La Mesa and the Carmel Mountain area of
San Diego and at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in La Jolla.
They also are sited at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Mission Valley
Center, Green Hospital of Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Scripps Memorial
Hospital in Encinitas and Saturn dealerships in Oceanside, Escondido,
Kearny Mesa, National City and El Cajon.
The program is being paid for by the San Diego Air Pollution Control
District, with a $50,000 contribution from Enova Corp, parent company of
SDG&E.
State regulation is expected to spur rapid growth in electric vehicles over
the next few years. The state Air Resources Board, as part of a long-range
strategy to cut smog, has ordered that about 10 percent of the new vehicles
sold in California by 2003 be zero-emission vehicles. Electric vehicles
have the most developed propulsion system that meets that goal.
"This is an important, evolving technology, and it is nice to see the
county is on the ground floor," Roberts said. "We want cleaner air for our
families here, and I am absolutely convinced that electric cars have a role
to play."