In wake of BP oil spill, Dept. of Energy encourages early adoption of electric cars

With all of the news coverage about the Gulf Coast oil spill, it is an opportune time for the U.S. Department of Energy and electric car manufacturers to address early tech adopters about the future of electric vehicles.

The Department of Energy has issued grants to build 15,000 240-volt home charging stations across the U.S. to form the first electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This network of charging stations will ultimately become something of a beta test for future electric transport. Data collected from these charging stations will be used by the Department of Energy to learn what kind of backbone will be needed for widespread electric vehicle usage. The data will include average charge time, energy usage and the starting and ending time of the charging process.

Today, Chevrolet announced that the first 4,400 people to buy the company's first electric car, the Volt, will be eligible to have one of these charging stations freely installed in their home. This is possible because of federal grants given to ECOtality's EV Project and Coulomb Technologies' ChargePoint America project, partners of both the Department of Energy and Chevrolet.

"Many owners will plug...into a normal 120-volt electrical outlet, charge overnight and drive to work in the morning using only battery power," said Tony DiSalle, Product and Marketing Director for the Chevrolet Volt. "For Volt owners who want to install a faster 240-volt charge station, we expect the Department of Energy project to save $1,000 and $2,000."
The Chevrolet Volt is a purely electric vehicle for the first 40 miles of use per charge. When the car's lithium-ion battery is depleted, a gasoline-powered engine/generator kicks in to extend the driving range another 300 miles.

Ford Motor Company is also on board with the program, promising nearly 5,000 free in-home charging stations for adopters of its first electric vehicles. The company's lineup this year will only include the Ford Transit Connect Electric van, a commercial transit vehicle which can travel up to 80 miles on a full charge. But the electric Ford Focus is expected to debut in 2011, and two more lithium-ion battery hybrid-electric vehicles and one plug-in hybrid are expected from Ford in 2012.

Earlier this month, two versions of the bi-partisan Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 was introduced in the House by Representatives Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), and in the Senate by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon). The bills support comprehensive programs to deploy up to
700,000 electric vehicles over the next six years, and include extensions and enhancements to tax credit programs for consumers who purchase electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids.