Electric vehicle plug-ins making inroadsMay 18 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Michaelle Bond The Philadelphia InquirerAdam Supplee drives his Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid each weekday from his Collegeville home to work in Phoenixville. Usually, he drops it off at the electric car charging station at the Phoenixville Municipal Building parking lot and walks to work. But when Supplee returned to the lot from a meeting Thursday afternoon, he found a Nissan Leaf and a Ford C-Max using both available plugs -- a first since the free stations opened in October. "I was kind of pleasantly surprised," said Supplee, 42, a landscape architect. The station is part of an effort to raise awareness about electric vehicles and attract the environmentally conscious to Phoenixville. As officials like to say, drivers can top off in the time it takes for a meal at a borough restaurant. By this time next year, Borough Manager E. Jean Krack hopes to require developers with projects of a certain size to install electric car charging stations. Phoenixville would be one of the only municipalities in Pennsylvania to require developers to install the stations. Borough officials are in the early stages of updating a land-development ordinance and are looking to California towns for guidance. There are obstacles: Drains on the power grid if there are too many charging stations, resentment from drivers with gas cars, and the stations' low return on investment. In 2011, President Obama called for putting one million electric cars on the road by this year. As of April, about 317,900 plug-in cars, including hybrids and battery-electric vehicles, have been sold, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association. Falling gas prices have slowed demand. In Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, officials are offering free charging stations. But drivers only use them a total of four to seven times in a typical month. About 1,700 people who have bought alternative fuel vehicles have received rebates from the state Department of Environmental Protection since 2009. Many people will not buy an electric car unless charging stations are nearby, said Robert Graff, manager of the Office of Energy and Climate Change Initiatives at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Electric charging stations dot the region, particularly at car dealerships and colleges, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's alternative fueling station locator map. Instead of mandating charging stations, Graff said, towns and developers should create the infrastructure that would allow for easy installation of the stations if people need them. Phoenixville's municipal building has this type of infrastructure. Upper Merion installed four charging stations about three years ago using about $15,000 in state grants. The township has its own electric hybrid car, a Chevrolet Volt. "We were trying to get out there on the cutting edge," said Ed O'Brien, director of the township's Public Works Department. As electric cars become more widely available, towns in Montgomery County might be more willing to include charging stations in their ordinances, said Jody Holton, executive director of the county's Planning Commission. In the last few years, more municipalities have been using ordinances to encourage the use of alternative energy, Holton said. Phoenixville's updated ordinance will likely include guidelines for other alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, the borough manager said. "Green energy is here to stay," Krack said, "and we need to address it." BY THE NUMBERS 317,900 Plug-in cars sold in the United States as of April. 1,700 Pennsylvanians who have bought alternative fuel vehicles through the state's rebate program since 2009. 80 Estimated number of electric car charging stations in Philadelphia and its suburbs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. SOURCES: Electric Drive Transportation Association, U.S. Department of Energy mbond@philly.com 610-313-8207 @MichaelleBond http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=36200034 |