AndyH
Well-known member
It's been said that 2010 is the "year of the electric car," and this month's Plug In America newsletter is certainly consistent with that declaration. Cars are being ordered, new charging infrastructure is being deployed, and you can actually go to a racetrack this weekend to watch electrically-powered vehicles compete at a sanctioned event. Not that long ago, such developments would have been considered far over the horizon. Well, the event horizon is upon us.
Plug In America was there when the latest in charging stations were dedicated in both Southern and Northern California. Supporter and co-founder Dave Raboy recounts the story of placing his much-anticipated order for a Nissan Leaf. Lastly, there's an eco-event on May 19th in Napa that is to-die-for. I'm excited to share these stories with you this month. As always, I thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for the work we do at Plug In America to help make these game-changing developments possible.
Dan Davids
President
The First Public J1772: Another Leap Closer to Plugging In
The first Level 2 public J1772 charging station in the world went operational on Monday, May 3, some 10 miles from Sacramento Airport in Woodside, CA. As readers of this newsletter will know, this is a historic achievement, as J1772 is the universal standard that will charge all the coming new plug-ins in the U.S.
Tom Dowling, charging infrastructure manager with the Electric Auto Assn. and long-time EV driver (12 years!), had the J1772 interface installed. The charger itself, is a ClipperCreek model CS-40 with a 208 volt capacity.
Of course, there are no vehicles for the station to charge at the moment because there are no J1772-capable cars on the road yet. But at press time, Tom expected an early Leaf, slated to visit UC Davis, to visit the charging station for a photo op and a charge in mid-May. In a tantalizingly few months, there should be lots of J1772-capable cars craving a charge at the station.
"This installation of an SAE J1172(tm) charging station is an important milestone" Tom says. "Here we have a fully UL-approved charging station, cable, and connector. Suppliers are ready to provide fully-approved equipment in volume. We're actually ready for vehicles before the vehicles arrive. We don't have the problems the BMW Mini E trial had, where the vehicles arrived before all the approvals were complete, and we have a new universal standard connector, not a vehicle-manufacturer-specific connector. Now all we need are the vehicles."
The J1772 location also boasts the first public Tesla charging station, a ClipperCreek TS-90, installed in '09 as well as legacy charging stations for Toyota's RAV4 EV and Ford's Ranger EV.
Get A Charge Out of Shopping
Plug In America lent some real-life authenticity to a recent ribbon cutting for what was billed as the first shopping-center installation of a networked charging station-albeit a slow one at present
The ceremony took place at the swanky South Coast Plaza mall in Orange County, CA where board member Linda Nicholes charged her radiant red Tesla Roadster at Coulomb Technologies' new CT1000 charger. It's located in the sprawling mall's underground parking structure beneath a Crate and Barrel Home Store at 3333 Bear St. in Costa Mesa, but future use of the charger will be restricted to paid members of Coulomb's ChargePoint Network.
Linda found the charger's 120 volt receptacle a bit cramped for her mobile charging-cord plug, due to some unfortunately placed plastic nodes. However, she borrowed a slender adaptor from charging expert Stefano Paris to successfully feed her Roadster.
"It was definitely a slow charge," Linda said, "but Coulomb assured me that the 120 volt would be upgraded to a level-2, J1772 universal standard."
Ribbon-cutting duties were shared by actor-environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr., Enid Joffe, president of Clean Fuel Connection, Coulomb's California distributor, and Anton Segerstrom, South Coast Plaza's general manager. "Anton told me that Coulomb's charger is just a start," Linda said, "that as more plug-in cars hit the road, the shopping center will install more stations."
Speaking to the small crowd gathered, Segerstrom highlighted other green measures taken by the shopping center. Begley hinted that putting a charging station at the mall was a wise financial move. While charging, he said, he can shop, and the amount he can drop can be considerable (the upscale center enjoys the second highest sales-density in California at $800 per square feet).
Joffe juiced up her company-owned BMW Mini-E from a separate much faster ClipperCreek CS-40 charger next to Coulomb's. Plug In America volunteer extraordinaire Stefano Paris likewise grabbed 9.1 kWh for his own Mini-E.
Other EV drivers in attendance included Toyota RAV-4 EV drivers Doug Korthof (who appeared in "Who Killed the Electric Car?") and wife Lisa Rosen. Orange County Tesla owner, Mark Cross, brought his red Roadster, and Naiche Lujan was there with his team from Project ReinCARnate, an EV conversion and outreach project. Plug In America board member Richard Kelly brought his son Raoul to witness the bit of history in the making.
"It's like a little haven of efficiency among a sea of SUVs," Kelly said.
mall photo courtesy of Don L from Flikr Creative Commons - thank you
Electric Motorcycle Grand Prix
The EV community can celebrate another historic milestone happening May 14-16: North America's first zero-carbon motorcycle grand prix at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif. Jeremy Burne, U.S. director of the TTXGP eGrand Prix, gave us a preview in a Plug In America podcast. Take a listen here.
He paints a dynamic picture of the race that uses cutting-edge electric technology to deliver "thrills and passion" to spectators and riders alike. Get a discount on admission here, and be sure to stop by the Plug In America booth and say hello! If you can't make it to the Sonoma event, you may be able to catch the EV bike race in Wisconsin, Virginia or Ontario Canada - all listed on the event website.
I Reserved a Nissan Leaf
By Dave Raboy
I put dibs in for a Nissan Leaf on April 20, Day One of reservations for the new EV. Having owned an EV since 2000 and helped co-found Plug In America, I could barely believe the moment had even arrived. Our work's not over, though, as it will take all of our efforts to make sure that this time, EVs are here to stay. The run-up to my reservation was nerve wracking. An April 17 email let me know to expect another message on April 20 allowing me to actually reserve a car. I was half expecting a third missive instructing me to go to a parking garage and look for a guy in a trench coat.
The day finally arrived. We were to receive our "go" email sometime between 1 and 6 p.m. EST. But around 2 p.m. EST, I sent an email to several Plug In America friends to see if anyone had gotten their notification. The hours rolled by but no one on the East or West Coast had heard a thing. Nissan assured me the emails were going out, but they said they were a little backed up. Then, while on the phone asking their support crew why the email wasn't arriving, as if by magic, at 2:38 PST it arrived.
I quickly skipped through a seven-question survey, verified my address, and up popped model and color choices. I wasn't actually prepared for this. It was incredibly cool, but now, on the spot I had to pick a model and color? Thoughts began racing. What if my wife doesn't like the color I want? Am I stuck with it--and her wrath? Should I pay extra for cool features? Oh hell, I chose silver and took the SL for extra features.
Hopefully by the end of the year a Leaf will be sitting in our garage, right next to our 1999 Ford Ranger EV with NIMH batteries. Yep, it's still going and still gets more than 60 miles to a charge. And when my Leaf arrives, with thanks to Plug In America for keeping the dream alive, we will have two pieces of history: one amazing EV from the past and another representing the future.
Have you reserved your Leaf yet? Starting May 15, everyone may reserve a Nissan Leaf for a refundable $99 deposit. Until then, only those who have previously registered with Nissan may do so. Don't be left out of the rEVolution!
Plug In America Members Offered Discount to Napa Valley Eco-EVent
Plug In America co-founder Marc Geller and his RAV4 EV will be special guests at A Taste of KI, a high-end eco event at The Carneros resort in Napa Valley on May 19. One of the event's expert speakers, Marc will deliver the latest news on the EV scene and preside over the Plug In America vehicle corral. The event will also feature a Tesla Roadster, available for rides, Zero Motorcycles, Brammo and two Coulomb chargers. All Plug In America members are now offered a 50% discount on tickets, available here. Just use this Plug In America promotional code: PIA. Talk shop and share with other EV drivers in our vehicle corral and enjoy divine organic food, Biodynamic wine and experience a range of other sustainable lifestyle solutions. A Taste of KI is a sneak-peek sampling of a larger event, The KI, coming to the San Francisco Bay Area in August. For more information about The KI, click here.
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