Good news for the great Northwest

[Mycroft]

From Seattle Times: Charging stations along I-5 in Wash. due this year

By the end of the year, Hoekstra and other electric car drivers will be able to access a network of fast-charging stations stretching along Interstate 5, from the Washington border with Canada to the Oregon border with California.

Officials say drivers in Washington will be able to fully charge electric vehicles in less than 30 minutes with level-3 DC fast-chargers, or in several hours with level-2 medium-speed chargers. Drivers will have to pay to juice up, but the cost hasn't been determined yet, said Kristen Helsel, vice president of EV solutions at AeroVironment.

Woo hoo! Good news!

Edit: More news from the press release.

From MarketWatch: Press Release: Washington Selects AeroVironment to Light up Nation's First Electric Highway

The fast-charging stations will be operational by Nov. 30, and will power an electric vehicle from zero to fully charged in less than 30 minutes. Each station also will include a Level 2 "medium-speed" charging station, which will cost less for users and take up to four to six hours for a full charge. The stations will be located at private retail locations such as shopping malls, fueling stations and travel centers with easy access to the highway.

 

[ckessel]

That is great news. I live in Portland and travel to Seattle in the north and Ashland in the south once in a while (maybe 1-2 times a year), so this definitely solves any range issues I might have been worried about.

 

[ChadS]

This is great news for the industry; but just to be clear these fast DC chargers don't work with our Roadsters. The only automakers that have committed to using the CHAdeMO/TEPCO standard are Nissan and Mitsubishi--and Toyota, but only in Japan. There will be L2 stations as well, but only at 30A, so we're better off using HPCs or campgrounds.

I think there's a reasonable chance that the Model S will support CHAdeMO/TEPCO, but Tesla has not said for sure.

By the way ckessel, there are HPCs in Centralia WA to the North, and Eugene and Canyonville to the South, so you should be good on your trips. More details at Google Maps
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[TEG]

There were some indications that BMW may be considering CHAdeMO for their next gen vehicles too...

 

[ckessel]

By the way ckessel, there are HPCs in Centralia WA to the North, and Eugene and Canyonville to the South, so you should be good on your trips. More details at Google Maps
213359050108102131982.00048cca5f440e03b1fe4

We'll see what the Model S supports in charging, but the Eugene station is one I literally come within 30 feet of when I visit family in Eugene. I frequently fill up at the normal Petrol station next to it.

 

[William13]

Does anyone know about how much money a level three charger costs with installation assuming available electric supply?

 

[Lloyd]

Roughly $40K, but according to this article by Nissan $50K

nissan-leaf.net/2011/03/05/ev-chaging-stations-pose-barrier-for-condos/