Calif. Gives eTec $8 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for San Diego
By Scott Doggett August 31, 2009
Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. today announced receipt of $8 million from the government of California to aid in development of an electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for San Diego.
The same company earlier this month landed a $99.8 million grant from the Obama administration to join Nissan in the biggest deployment of EVs - and creation of the largest charging infrastructure - ever undertaken.
The $8 million from the California Energy Commission is among the roughly $15 million in funds the agency is in the process of awarding to EV projects that received federal funds from the U.S. Department of Energy on Aug. 5.
With the two grants and others it expects to get from regional project participants, eTec has pledged to install about 2,550 charging stations in each of five selected markets: the states of Tennessee and Oregon, the cities of San Diego and Seattle, and the Phoenix/Tucson region.
Those approximately 12,750 charging stations will be used to recharge up to 1,000 LEAF EVs that Nissan will provide for each of the five markets, for a total contribution of up to 5,000 EVs.
Whether the zero-emissions vehicles will be donated, leased or sold by the automaker has not been determined, according to a Nissan source familiar with the collaboration.
In a statement released today, eTec said its project will collect and analyze data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns in diverse topographies and climate conditions; evaluate the effectiveness of charge infrastructure; and conduct trials of various revenue systems for public charge infrastructure.
By testing and analyzing electric vehicle usage and charging patterns in a simulated mature charging environment, eTec hopes the project will foster the expansion of the EV infrastructure and widespread EV use throughout the country.
ETec is a subsidiary of ECOtality, a Scottsdale, Arizona, company that has been involved in every major electric vehicle initiative in North America since the 1990's. ETec is known for its Minit-Charger line of battery fast-charge systems for on-road EVs.
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