Free Charging Stations

[Fuel Miser]

Kwik Trip convenience stores have become more convenient for owners of electric vehicles thanks to its installation of free charging stations, reports 300mpg.org. (http://300mpg.org/)

The charge stations, which are simple electrical outlets mounted on sign poles, have been installed at up to 70 Kwik Trip locations in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. According to Kwik Trip staff, the company began adding the charging stations as it opened new stores and is remodeling old ones.

Since 120 volt-chargers provide approximately four miles of electric 'fuel' for each hour spent charging buy a paper and get the super-size coffee. According to the report, Kwik Trip plans to upgrade to more powerful outlets in the future.

Kwik Trip stations offer E85 "Flex Fuel".

[GasSavers_Erik]

This could work nicely for restaurants and cafes- attracting 9-5 working electric car drivers who like to eat out somewhere close on their 1 hour lunch break.

I don't know about convenience stores- usually that is somewhere that most ppl want to stop in and get out of fast because you are on your way to work in the morning (or after work at night). The morning crowd should have a full charge from the night before. As for the "after work" crowd- I don't see why they would want to stop off for an hour- personally- I like to go straight home after work...

Maybe it would work well for those who are just out shopping and running errands during the day.

[theholycow]

I agree with Erik.

I work at a college. Colleges love getting publicity for pro-environment initiatives. I imagine I might convince them to let me charge for free if I had an electric car...all I'd have to do is pose my ugly mug for a photo next to the charging station.

[Fuel Miser]

Texas Revs Up Electric Charging Stations

DALLAS -- The eVgo chain of charging stations for electric vehicles had its official "coming-out" party last week in Dallas, according to CNET News.

The first U.S. commercial chain of charging stations, eVgo (pronounced ee-vee-go), will reportedly have a total of 60 electric-vehicle charging stations in place by Labor Day. eVgo is owned by NRG EV Services, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, one of the largest electricity providers in Texas.

NRG EV Services and eVgo have not yet announced their specific pricing structure and plans for station customers, but eVgo did say it plans to offer a subscription service through which customers get unlimited access to its stations for a set monthly fee, according to the CNET report. eVgo also announced it is developing a smartphone app that will alert users to nearby charging stations.

The eVgo network announced in November that it had partnered with some leading Texas retailers to provide space in their parking lots for charging stations, including Walgreens.

The Walgreens chain will host 18 of the rapid-charging stations at its Houston-area stores. Other partners include electronics retailer Best Buy, stores in the HEB supermarket chain and the airport parking company Park N' Fly.

The eVgo network will consist of two types of charging stations: 480-volt DC rapid chargers, which take about 30 minutes to recharge an electric vehicle, and 240-volt Level 2 chargers, which take about four hours to recharge a vehicle.

The eVgo "Freedom Stations" will be open 24 hours a day, and offer both types of chargers. Twenty-five of those will be open in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and 35 in the Houston area by Labor Day. A total of 70 will be in place in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area and 50 in the Houston area by 2012, according to NRG.

Eventually, eVgo also plans to roll out "convenience stations" that will be limited to 240-volt Level 2 chargers, and only open for service during the business hours of the retailer hosting the station.

http://www.csnews.com/top-story-texa...ons-58373.html

[GasSavers_Erik]

"NRG EV Services and eVgo have not yet announced their specific pricing structure and plans for station customers, but eVgo did say it plans to offer a subscription service through which customers get unlimited access to its stations for a set monthly fee"

Ouch- this would be a bad contract to sign for a 9-5 type person (it might be OK if you are a night owl). It would be like paying a monthly fee to park in one of the 10 closest parking spots at the mall. So what happens when 1000 other people payed the same fee for the same "service"? The answer is that you will seldom ever find a free space to be able to use.

It would be better for the consumer if it was a "pay per charge" fee, otherwise one could pay the monthly fee and hardly ever find a free spot to charge up.

[KyleSmed]

I agree with the pay-per-charge fee idea. Also, there are not many of these spots available. I have only seen 1 - 2 spots in some parking lots out here in California. The goal should be and probably is for 75% of the parking lots to have charge stations. In order for that to happen we need to get more people buying electric vehicles. What do you guys think is the best way to motivate people these days?

[RningOnFumes]

Anyone know of ones here in SoCal? Any initiatives? I like the word "free".