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All Eyes on California as Electric Car Push Gets Underway California, which through 2015 will be spending $200 million annually on low-emission vehicles, is offering rebates to consumers for the purchase of electric vehicles and is also subsidizing the creation of over 5,000 charging stations over the next two years.
At present there are an estimated 1,000 all-electric vehicles on California roadways. The state’s goal is to see 7,500 all-electric and 25,000 plug-in hybrid cars on its roadways by 2014.
In the next few years, nearly two dozen different car companies are expected to begin selling electric vehicles, from all-electrics like the Nissan Leaf to plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt.
Being able to charge electric vehicles conveniently will be critical to widespread consumer adoption.
Federal and state funds are being channeled both to the installation of new charging stations and to the companies making the charging-station technology. Coulomb Technologies Inc. of Campbell, Calif., received $15 million in federal funds for 5,000 stations it is installing in several states and $3.4 million from California for the 1,600 it will locate there. ClipperCreek Inc. of Auburn, Calif. is getting $1.9 million from the state to overhaul 635 old charging points. Charging stations will likely be located where people spend time—malls, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Whether the bills will be picked up by retailers eager to keep customers around for the duration of a charge or whether consumers will pay for the power is still an open question. |
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