Vermont, Quebec announce electric vehicle corridor

Will a newly announced electric vehicle charging corridor in Vermont and Quebec lead to more electric vehicles in the region?

Solar panels on the roof of the Farm Barn at Shelburne Farms, in Shelburne, Vermont.

Electric vehicles are receiving increased interest, as drivers and policymakers look for ways to reduce the use of gasoline in the transportation sector.  For pure plug-in cars, the vehicle's range and the logistics of recharging the vehicle's battery are critically important.  Electric vehicle manufacturers try to address range anxiety through technological advances, while policymakers focus on ensuring that drivers have access to conveniently-spaced recharging infrastructure.

Today Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Quebec Premier Pauline Marois unveiled the first sites of the Vermont-Québec Electric Charging Corridor.  The 138-mile corridor will eventually connect Burlington, Vermont to Montreal, Quebec, using existing highways including I-89 and Canadian routes A-10, 104 and 133.  The plan calls for over the development of over 20 charging stations along the way.  Some stations are already in place, including charging stations in Sharon, Montpelier, South Burlington and Waterbury.

How quickly charging stations can recharge batteries depends on the technology used.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Plug-In Electric Vehicle Handbook, light-duty vehicle charging stations can be broken into three categories.  Level 1 stations offer 2 to 5 miles of added driving range per hour of charging.  Level 2 stations provide 10 to 20 miles of added range per hour of charge.  Much more expensive Level 3 or "DC fast charging" stations can add 60 to 80 miles of range in 20 minutes of charging.

Level 2 stations are proposed for the Vermont-Quebec corridor.  These stations will allow electric vehicle drivers to top off their batteries at the stations, and possibly to fully recharge their batteries overnight.  While the charge rate is still significantly slower than refilling a conventional vehicle's tank with gasoline, Vermont and Quebec hope that the cost and environmental benefits of electric vehicles will drive their greater adoption.

April 14, 2011 - California establishes 33% renewable energy standard

California established a 33% renewable energy standard this week when Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 2X.  That bill creates a legislative mandate that California utilities and other electric service providers must source 33% of the electricity they sell to retail consumers from renewable resources.  The Governor's signing ceremony followed the bill's passage by each chamber of California's legislature with a majority vote - 26-11 in the Senate and 55-19 in the Assembly.

Electric vehicle charging station, Burlington, Vermont.

California's new 33% RPS law is not its first renewable electricity standard.  The California Legislature had previously enacted an RPS that required utilities to source 20% of their electricity from renewables. In fact, California has already had a 33% RPS.  After legislation increasing the renewable mandate failed to pass at the end of the last decade, in September 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger raised the RPS to 33% by executive order.

SB 2X also relieves some jurisdictional uncertainty over the RPS.  California's original legislative 20% RPS was administered by the California Public Utilities Commission, but Governor Schwarzenegger's  Executive Order gave the California Air Resources Board authority over the additional RPS mandate beyond 20%.  SB 2X restores the CPUC's authority over the RPS, giving it a mandate to develop rules implementing the shift.

August 16, 2010 - renewable energy standards and goals

NPR has an interesting set of graphics today illustrating the diversity of U.S. states' policies on renewable energy.  As we saw last month, the U.S. does not have a federal-level renewable energy standard, or even a specific goal for renewable development defined in terms of capacity (megawatts, or more realistically gigawatts).

The first factory built-to-order solar-powered integrated electric-vehicle charging station has been unveiled in Korea: the SunPods SP-300.  The unit, also known as the "EV Plug-N-Go", was first displayed at International Green Energy Expo Korea 2010 in Deagu, South Korea.