ICEless in Seattle : Official Pacific NorthWest thread

[DaveinOlyWA]

$40 a month is reasonable if there were a few hundred in the region. that will take about 75 years at the pace they are moving now

No, not even if there were hundreds....I will use a QC at best a few times a month...If they
dont have a pay-per-use model, they might as well drop it altogether, as I will never get
a subscription for a service I mostly wont use.

ya know my first reaction was the same since i have only had a half dozen times when i had to charge away from home and QC was not needed in any but maybe 2 times and i am sure these places will offer one time charge rates for "drop in" customers but then again, if QC was all over the place and i could bee bop from Olympia to Salem or even Tillamook OR by QC'ing i would have to say that i am not sure that i would not do it.

$40 sounds like a lot but what does it give me? free unlimited charging for the month? now that would be too good to be true so there is other information that we are not aware of. for one thing, the last fillup on my Prius was $40 and that is only gonna be good for 500 miles or about 7 charges.

ya, like i said... i am open to possibilities

 

[UhClem]

$40 a month is a deal breaker for me. I'm guessing I'll use maybe 10 quick charges a year, which would be $48 per charge. At that price, it's cheaper and more convenient to take the Prius.

On top of that, there will be multiple quick charge providers along the I5 corridor. The Washington Department of Transportation has said they'll only be installing Aerovironment quick chargers north of Everett and south of Olympia. With multiple quick charge networks I'll be even less inclined to pay a high monthly fee to a single provider.

 

[klapauzius]

The question is, if some stations (if they ever go up) will be strategically placed so that you have to use
them, if you e.g. wanted to go from Seattle to Vancouver or Portland (in one day that is).
No, at $40/month I might as well use some gas for extended trips.
Anyway, I hope its just a rumor anyway....I cannot see any economic sense for any user. If you commute to work regularly, you might as well charge at your workplace and the 'casual' charger will not want to waste money on an otherwise useless
monthly subscription....

 

[ebill3]

$40 a month is reasonable if there were a few hundred in the region. that will take about 75 years at the pace they are moving now

Maybe reasonable for some, but methinks not for most.

 

[QueenBee]

$40 a month is reasonable if there were a few hundred in the region. that will take about 75 years at the pace they are moving now

Maybe reasonable for some, but methinks not for most.

Agreed, I wouldn't pay $40 a month for "unlimited" gas for my own consumption....

I would however pay $20 per DCQC even though that would be more than twice what the gas would cost.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

That is probably old new, but good for you in WA

ECOtality To Install First Blink® DC Fast Charger in Washington at Vulcan Real Estate's South Lake Union Discovery Center

Washington's first Blink DC Fast Charger to expand range for EV drivers in the Puget Sound

SEATTLE, Wa. – Thursday, March 15, 2012 – ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, today announced the first Blink® DC Fast Charger location in the Seattle area. Located at the South Lake Union Discovery Center, which is operated by Vulcan Real Estate, the DC Fast Charger will be available for public use by spring 2012.

 

[saywatt]

That is probably old new, but good for you in WA

I had not heard it but perhaps others here have. Thanks for posting "EdmondsLeaf"!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

$40 a month subscription is NOT what i would do since i dont have the need but what about the condo/apt/etc etc etc? dweller

maybe we should focus on how it can work even if not for ourselves?

having QCs scattered every 10-20 miles around town will allow someone who has no home charging option

there are people here that had to pay $$ to get charging installed. hey is great if you got a extra $2-3,000 to spend but what if you dont?

you SOL UNLESS something like this is available. how long does it take to pay off $2000 in $40 per month increments

lets look at the issue reasonably. i know for a fact that if this was a viable option last year more than a handful right here would be doing it.

 

[saywatt]

Good point, but for right now, what little infrastructure there is should be geared toward getting us early adoptors excited about the possibilities so can get others excited about those possibilities. $40/mo. does not do that, it makes us think the electric highway is green only at the bottom line.

This brings me back to the point of why the first WA QC was put in Bellingham where only a select, geographically lucky few can reach it from the Seattle area :?: and, it is obvious from the pics of the installation, no traffic flow engineers were part of the design team

$40 a month subscription is NOT what i would do since i dont have the need but what about the condo/apt/etc etc etc? dweller

maybe we should focus on how it can work even if not for ourselves?

having QCs scattered every 10-20 miles around town will allow someone who has no home charging option

there are people here that had to pay $$ to get charging installed. hey is great if you got a extra $2-3,000 to spend but what if you dont?

you SOL UNLESS something like this is available. how long does it take to pay off $2000 in $40 per month increments

lets look at the issue reasonably. i know for a fact that if this was a viable option last year more than a handful right here would be doing it.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

old news by now I am guessing but the first will be placed near the geographical center of the project area in Westlake.

As far as us? We have our basic charging needs filled and we can only help future EV'ers find a solution since we all benefit from every single public charger installed no matter what the type

 

[UhClem]

Good point, but for right now, what little infrastructure there is should be geared toward getting us early adoptors excited about the possibilities so can get others excited about those possibilities. $40/mo. does not do that, it makes us think the electric highway is green only at the bottom line.

This brings me back to the point of why the first WA QC was put in Bellingham where only a select, geographically lucky few can reach it from the Seattle area :?: and, it is obvious from the pics of the installation, no traffic flow engineers were part of the design team

My understanding is Bellingham happened to be first just because it was first to get through all the paperwork (agreements, contracts, permits, and so on). The DoT rep I talked to last fall said they were working on multiple locations.

I agree that the layout of the charging area is poor. It doesn't help being so close to a busy Starbucks, either. There's usually an ICE car parked in at least one of the spots

 

[QueenBee]

Just a little cross promotion for a local community solar project that I am a member of and encourage anyone interested in solar PV but not sure if they are ready to install their own system take a look at: Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative and on facebook

A really good write up about community solar and this project can be found at: "Yes, Virginia, Edmonds Does Get Enough Sun for Solar Panels to Work" by Sustainable Edmonds.


-Keith

 

[doug401]

I stopped by the Burlington outlet mall charge station during a road trip from Everett to Anacortes today. The DC3 unit is installed, but fenced off. It won't be long. These units are really big. "that's what she said" Sorry... But seriously, they have to be 6-7 foot tall. I'd post a pic but not sure how to do it here. But I posted one on Plug Share app.

Also, while looking at plug share, has anyone noticed southern Oregon I 5? There are 9 high speed chargers shown now. Momentum seems to be building for EV infrastructure.

 

[edatoakrun]

....Also, while looking at plug share, has anyone noticed southern Oregon I 5? There are 9 high speed chargers shown now. Momentum seems to be building for EV infrastructure.

All inactive or unknown?

If any one sees any live ones, please post.

 

[QueenBee]

Official DCQC PSE response from Patrick Leslie: "As for putting these types of chargers at PSE facilities, as a regulated utility we would have to be able to prove that it provides benefits to all ratepayers. These stations are expensive -- typically between $50,000 - $75,000 depending on the installation and interconnection costs, and we have decided against getting into the charging station business. That said, we are doing everything possible to help Ecotality, WSDOT, and Tesla get their chargers installed as quickly and smoothly as possible."

 

[doug401]

Apparently the Southern I 5 DC3 chargers went active on Friday. See this article, and a bunch of others news sites reporting the story.

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2012/mar/17/electric-car-drivers-plug-in-along-i-5/

and this web site at AV to subscribe... but it's not clear what I'm subscribing too.
This phone number is also listed. I will call Monday morning to inquire. 1-888-833-2148

http://evsolutions.avinc.com/services/subscriber_network/57

 

[Mars]

I've been poking around on the web this morning, trying to get a handle on which memberships/cards/fobs I need to gain access to all the charging stations/systems. Lemme say it even though I am certain it has been said - having to sign up with a variety of companies/agencies to get access to chargers is total BS. Imagine what people would say if you had to have a card or an account to go into Safeway or to get gas at Arco. I am not talking about a discount card, I mean simply to buy stuff with cash. There would be bedlam and rioting. :evil:

That out of the way. Does anyone know what I have to do to get access to the DC QC's on I-5?

I looked here: http://westcoastgreenhighway.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but can't find anything. I emailed WSDOT, but got no response yet.

Thx, y'all.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I've been poking around on the web this morning, trying to get a handle on which memberships/cards/fobs I need to gain access to all the charging stations/systems. Lemme say it even though I am certain it has been said - having to sign up with a variety of companies/agencies to get access to chargers is total BS. Imagine what people would say if you had to have a card or an account to go into Safeway or to get gas at Arco. I am not talking about a discount card, I mean simply to buy stuff with cash. There would be bedlam and rioting. :evil:

That out of the way. Does anyone know what I have to do to get access to the DC QC's on I-5?

I looked here: http://westcoastgreenhighway.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but can't find anything. I emailed WSDOT, but got no response yet.

Thx, y'all.

no comment...

**glances at wallet noticing Safeway Club Card...along with Albertsons, Walgreens, Target, Fred Meyer, Costco, Subway, and Happy Teriyaki (3 different locations)

 

[Mars]

A "no comment" comment? Really? :ugeek:

 

[edatoakrun]

"Mars"]I've been poking around on the web this morning, trying to get a handle on which memberships/cards/fobs I need to gain access to all the charging stations/systems. Lemme say it even though I am certain it has been said - having to sign up with a variety of companies/agencies to get access to chargers is total BS. Imagine what people would say if you had to have a card or an account to go into Safeway or to get gas at Arco. I am not talking about a discount card, I mean simply to buy stuff with cash. There would be bedlam and rioting. :evil:

ANY credit /debit card, accepted at ANY DC charge point, with NO other requirement, is the inevitable free-market standard.

Government-planned DC installations, may take quite a while, to get there...