For more than six months, the City of San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, the San Diego Association of Governments and other regional stakeholders have been working closely to determine the most effective way to install the charging infrastructure that is critical to the successful long-term adoption of electric vehicles in the region.
“This blueprint is essential to transforming the City of San Diego and the county’s surrounding cities and communities into a hub for electric vehicles,” said Jonathan Read, President and CEO of ECOtality. “We are grateful to the City and County of San Diego and our regional partners for their input and support throughout the planning process. In conjunction with the EV Project, we are taking a comprehensive approach that has given careful thought to the best places to locate commercially available chargers to eliminate range anxiety and create a highly functional, sustainable charging system.”
ECOtality unveiled three regional maps [CC1] at the press conference that identified optimal locations for EV charging stations. The map takes into account the deployment guidelines identified by ECOtality and its local partners, which cover basic site considerations for charging stations such as safety and parking layout. Additionally, analysis performed by the San Diego Association of Governments of plug-in electric vehicle market data, land-use data, transportation system information and other regional characteristics further contributed to forming the blueprint for the smart deployment of charging stations.
“With the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and other electric vehicles soon to common on our streets and highways, including 2,000 miles of roads the county maintains, it is important to plan for a regional fueling infrastructure,” said Supervisor Ron Roberts. “ECOtality’s work to deploy these publicly-available electric vehicle chargers will support a transition to cleaner fuels and help improve our air quality.”
"As we prepare for one million plug-in cars by 2020, California continues in the development and deployment of plug-in electric vehicles," said James Boyd, Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission. "The creation of a smart charging infrastructure, such as that in San Diego, is important in helping to bring more electric vehicles to market and demonstrating the future of clean, energy efficient transportation."
ECOtality is the lead grantee and project manager for The EV Project, established last year with a grant of $98.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grant was recently expanded by another $15 million of ARRA funds from the DOE. The grants are matched by private investment, bringing the total value of the project to approximately $230 million.
San Diego is among the 16 major metropolitan areas included in The EV Project, which will ultimately install more than 15,000 home and commercial charging stations in six U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Over the course of the three-year study, The EV Project will collect data on how the vehicles, batteries and chargers perform in various climates and geographies, will evaluate the charge infrastructure itself and conduct trials of various revenue systems.
"It has been SDG&E’s pleasure to team up with ECOtality, Nissan and representatives of the public and private sectors whose combined efforts played a critical role in San Diego’s selection as a one of the first cities chosen for the national electric vehicle project,” said Michael R. Niggli, president and chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric. “We look forward to employing our existing power distribution system, new smart grid technologies and ECOtality’s charging facilities to make the electric car driving experience in America’s Finest City the best in the nation.”
“SANDAG is thrilled to partner in this historic effort to make San Diego a leader in clean transportation,” said City of Santee Councilman and SANDAG Vice Chair Jack Dale. “This project will install about 1,500 publicly-accessible electric charging stations throughout the region, providing the infrastructure to make electric vehicles a real, everyday option for San Diego drivers.”
Next Steps for San Diego
Throughout the month of August, ECOtality will coordinate sub-regional informational meetings to discuss its findings and recommendations with business and property owners, retailers and local chambers of commerce. The company will provide details on opportunities to integrate EV charging stations with existing businesses, as well as the basic requirements of host sites. For more information on the dates, times and locations of the sub-regional informational meetings please contact Andy Hoskinson at (619) 559-2118 or [email protected]. Additionally, the company’s recently unveiled Blink chargers will be on display at the Street Smart event on September 12 hosted by the California Center for Sustainable Energy.
ECOtality worked with a coalition of 18 stakeholders to develop its deployment plan for San Diego. The coalition included the California Center for Sustainable Energy; City of Chula Vista; City of Escondido; City of La Mesa; City of Oceanside; City of Poway; City of San Diego; City of Santee; Cleantech San Diego; County of San Diego; Miramar College; Port of San Diego; Qualcomm; San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG); San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E); San Diego State University; University of California-Davis Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Center; and the University of California-San Diego.
ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through innovation, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels.
